Here we go! Large multi-million investment makes Aarhus-based canteen SaaS ready to take on the US

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Aarhus-based Kanpla raises DKK 60 million. Danish SaaS company Kanpla has just completed a Series A financing round of DKK 60 million. The significant investment is led by Dutch venture capitalFuel for startups' rocket ride. Venture capital is pro investors who create pool funds to seek innovation, and to mentor. It is high risk, high reward journeys.... More fund HenQ and will be used to strengthen the company’s international growth with a particular focus on Europe and the US.

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“We’ve seen a huge demand for digital transformation across Europe’s contract catering sector. Our platform helps caterers deliver more personalized experiences, better manage varying customer flows and reduce food waste,” says Peter Bæch, CEO & co-founder of Kanpla, in a press release.

Kanpla plans to significantly expand its current team of 45 employees and expects to double its workforce over the coming year to support its ambitious growth strategy.

Demand for flexible canteen solutions

Canteen catering is an essential part of everyday life for millions of employees and students around the world, and the market is valued at around DKK 2,125 billion. Despite its importance, the industry faces a number of ongoing challenges, including reducing food waste, meeting sustainability goals and managing an often erratic customer flow. Kanpla has created a digital platform that addresses these challenges by providing canteens with tools for operational optimization and better customer experiences.

The demand for flexible canteen solutions has never been greater, especially at a time when only 28% of companies require employees to work full-time in the office and many educational institutions have adopted hybrid models. This change in work culture has created a need for more flexible catering solutions, which Kanpla is ready to meet.

Startup with growing pains

In less than two years, Kanpla has grown from a Danish company to have operations in ten European countries, including Scandinavia, the UK and Benelux. Today, over 3,000 canteens in workplaces and educational institutions use Kanpla’s platform, enabling more than 250,000 users to access menus with carbon footprint and nutritional information, make purchases, earn loyalty points and provide feedback – all via app, POS systems or the web.

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“As work culture has changed, we’ve noticed key challenges such as increased food waste, too much manual work and inconsistencies in systems. We believe that software can be an important factor in solving these issues and want to position ourselves as the global technology leader in contract catering, helping chefs around the world save time and create the best possible customer experience,” says Jonas Gøttler, COO & co-founder.

Globally, the US is an important market for contract catering, with an annual market value of over 375 billion dollars. As the largest region for catering services, North America offers a wealth of opportunities for Kanpla, and the new capital injection will support the company’s launch in the US in 2025.