NeoTaste, Germany‘s fastest-growing gastrotech app, has closed €15.1 million in a Series A extension. This adds to the previous round of €5.9 million raised six months ago, totalling the Series A round at €21 million.
The funding round was led by Earlybird, a leading European venture capital investor that backed Lilium and Greenlyte, with participation from returning investor Burda Principal Investments (BPI), the independent investment arm of Hubert Burda Media.
On the sidelines of this fundraise, TFN asked the NeoTaste founder Hendrik Sander about their further plans to grow.
International expansion plans
The funding will support NeoTaste’s ambitious expansion initiatives, including further penetration into European markets following its recent entry into Amsterdam. By the end of the year, the app is expected to be available in numerous additional German and European cities. For now, they have attracted over 750,000 users and partnered with over 3,000 restaurants in Germany, with Amsterdam being the first international city that was launched earlier this year.
Commenting on their international expansion plans, NeoTaste founder Hendrik Sander said: “In the coming months, NeoTaste will be extending its reach to even more cities and countries, offering an array of enhanced features. I can confidently assure you of that. However, given the volatility of the past six months alone, I’m hesitant to make further predictions.”
How was the idea for NeoTaste born?
Founded by Hendrik Sander and Tobias Düser in 2019, NeoTaste is building a platform to innovatively connect restaurants and customers. Sander said: “The idea for NeoTaste came about during a chat with a friend who runs a restaurant. As we sat together, analysing his business numbers, we stumbled upon an interesting insight. He was using an Orderbird cash register that gave him detailed sales insights. But there was this one big chunk of sales he couldn’t account for. My friend was frustrated with the analog system, even though it was generating a decent amount of revenue each year. That’s where we saw an opportunity to step in and fix the pain points of the old-school approach by going digital.”
He further added, “Tobias and I have known each other since the 9th grade at school and are old friends. With his background in UX and product management and my background in business, we started NeoTaste.”
Currently, NeoTaste has over 80 team members across different cities and countries. Of this, nearly 40% are female, and the staff represent eight different nationalities.
Connects restaurants and customers
By offering exclusive introductory offers through its app, NeoTaste provides customers with new culinary experiences while allowing restaurants to expand their customer base. It is a win-win situation for the restaurant world and its customers.
Users can take advantage of these deals by subscribing for €4.99 per month (or €2.99 annually). NeoTaste is touted to be the first platform to offer such a new customer acquisition opportunity to restaurants free of charge. In addition, the team is already developing additional features to enrich digital interactions between restaurants and customers, including direct reservation capabilities.
Shedding light on the additional features they plan to introduce, Sander said: “There are plenty of new features in the pipeline for this year and the next. Our goal is to be the go-to platform for restaurants and customers. From discovering new restaurants to booking and rating them, we aim to digitize the entire restaurant experience.”
Competition
While there are numerous competitors in the market for NeoTaste, the co-founder stated that they are different as they have a strong focus on creating significant value on both sides. Additionally, they have taken a completely different approach from everyone else.
Sander said, “By monetising on the user side, we’ve created a very low barrier to entry for restaurants to experience the immense value of being listed on a platform with 750,000 people eager to discover new restaurants.”
Partner Dr. Christian Nagel and Principal Dr. Maresa Buttlar from Earlybird shared: “Restaurant discovery is broken and no platform has yet combined unbiased searches, attractive discounts, and an efficient booking system. Neotaste sets out to solve this. They have achieved impressive growth through a business model that provides a clear win-win situation, a viral product approach, and focused team execution. We look forward to shaping the future of gastronomy together with team NeoTaste.”
“Our investment in NeoTaste in the summer of 2023 was a clear testament to the company’s impressive growth and potential. The success that has been achieved beyond our expectations, especially in terms of expansion and internationalisation, has reinforced our enthusiasm,” said Friedrich von Wulffen, Investment Manager at BPI. Julian von Eckartsberg, Managing Director Europe at BPI, added: “We look forward to continuing collaboration with Hendrik, Tobias, and the entire team – now alongside Earlybird as a new and formidable partner.”
