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Order management platform Fresho has wrapped up a $17 million Series B funding round led by Payapps founder Geoff Tarrant as the Melbourne-based company pursues further growth in international markets and accelerates the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform.
Designed to helps fresh food wholesalers operate more efficiently and better service their restaurant customers, Fresho’s latest funding round brings total capital raised since inception to $50 million since the company was established in 2015.
Fresho, which was founded by James Andronis and Huw Birrel, has so far processed more than 30 million in orders, with 10 million of those in the past year alone, from clients in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
After successfully launching in Texas, New York and California over the past two years, the new funding will now help the company establish an “on-ground presence’ in the US market next year.
“We are pleased to have closed this round in a challenging fundraising environment,” says Andronis, the Fresho CEO.
“This speaks to the size of the opportunity, and to our record of consistent growth and capital management to date.
“Fresh food distribution has been traditionally slow to adopt technology, but a confluence of factors – headlined by margin pressures, skills shortages and family-owned business succession issues – are causing this to change.
“As a result, we are seeing unprecedented interest in how technology can drive efficient operations, better customer service, and improved work/life balance for owners and managers.”
The oversubscribed round attracted new and existing shareholders, led by Tarrant who is co-founder and former executive chairman of Payapps, a global construction software firm that was acquired by Autodesk for $600 million earlier this year.
Tarrant, who also served as director of former ASX-listed construction materials supplier Adbri, will join the Fresho board following his investment.
“As a shareholder for more than five years, I have seen the great business James, Huw and the Fresho team have built over that period,” says Tarrant.
“I am excited by the opportunity Fresho has to improve the way the fresh food industry operates. The software platform Fresho has built together with recent AI advancements will provide benefits for all participants in the fresh food market. I look forward to joining the board of Fresho as part of my further investment in the recently completed capital raising.”
Andronis drew on 15 years' experience running one of Australia's major seafood wholesalers when he teamed up with Birrell, a technology entrepreneur with international finance expertise, to establish Fresho.
The company's technology is said to directly address the industry's unique challenges, where produce travels from farm or ocean to restaurant in days, where prices fluctuate daily and where high-end restaurant customers demand perfection.
Instead of employing overnight staff to manually process orders arriving through emails, texts and voicemails, suppliers are using Fresho's AI-powered system to convert incoming orders into structured data, while also giving restaurants direct access to live pricing and availability through the Fresho app.
Fresho says apart from eliminating “unsociable working hours for wholesale fresh food suppliers”, the company has also “dramatically improved order accuracy and processing speed and, in turn, helped to reduce waste”.
“Instead of manually dealing with orders from emails, PDFs and voicemails, Fresho's AI handles it all for us,” says Jess Barnett of Prime Cut Meats, one of the largest suppliers of premium meats to restaurants in South-East Queensland.
“Plus, with their team doing the final review, we have peace of mind that nothing gets missed. It's saved us a lot of time so that we can focus on serving our customers better.”
Fresho has also been adopted by Melbourne restaurants Coda and Lee Ho Fook, and Michelin-starred venues such as Wild Honey St James in London and Le Bernardin in New York City.
Birrell says the $17 million in fresh capital will trigger a new phase of growth for Fresho and its mission to reshape the fresh food supply chain.
“By investing in AI and emerging technologies, we're not just enhancing operational efficiency; we're enabling our customers to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market,” he says.
“As we expand across our existing markets and enter the US, our focus remains on pioneering solutions that help fresh food wholesalers deliver outstanding service with speed, precision, and insight.”
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