Yume, an award-winning food redistribution platform that prevents food waste by connecting surplus food from manufacturers to businesses and charities, has secured A$2million in seed funding.
Asia-Pacific based VC firm, Investible led the round bringing Yume’s total funding to A$7 million, with new and previous investors including Launch Vic, Goodrich Group, Veolia, as well as angel investor, Pitzy Folk.
The new funds will allow Yume to build on its leading position in Australia and supercharge its technology capabilities in preparation for international expansion. The Melbourne based Certified Social Enterprise is on a pathway to double its headcount by the end of 2024 with 75% of this growth to be focused on technology and product teams.
Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur, Katy Barfield (pictured), Yume is revolutionising the way food manufacturers handle excess inventory. By digitising and automating the traditionally manual processes used for sales and donation, Yume allows manufacturers to automate workflows, while providing powerful data that allows them to boost revenue and minimise food waste.
Alongside its partners including Unilever, Kellanova (Kellogg’s) and Mars Food and Nutrition, Yume is pioneering new standards for inventory clearance and donations. The Yume platform has redistributed almost 8 million kilograms of surplus food from manufacturers to other businesses and charities.
“Australia has a food waste problem; in fact, it’s a 7.6 million tonne problem. The amount of land used to grow wasted food in Australia covers more than 25 million hectares, a landmass larger than the state of Victoria,” Barfield said.
“Yume was founded to eradicate this problem and our platform has grown rapidly as large food manufacturers have been able to utilise our technology to connect surplus food to Australian businesses and charities, reducing waste and increasing their revenue. This latest round of funding will support us as we invest in our technology and team to further push for a world without waste.”