By Business & Finance 
Pictured (L-R): DropChef co-founders Ryan Scott, Roman Grogan, and Sam O’Byrne. Image by Alice Ward.
DropChef secures €2 million investment from VentureWave Capital’s Impact Ireland Fund.
VentureWave Capital has announced a €2 million investment in the Irish food technology company DropChef.
DropChef’s online platform delivers tailored healthy meal kits with precisely measured locally sourced ingredients to every part of Ireland, north and south. Founded in 2015 by Irish Entrepreneurs Ryan Scott, Roman Grogan and Sam O’Byrne, the concept has been adopted by Irish households seeking healthier meals, with ingredients delivered to their doors on demand.
Commenting on this announcement, Mr Scott, CEO of DropChef, stated that “this is phenomenal news for our team and our customers and suppliers, it will do so much for the business by allowing us to invest further in the customer experience, technology and our sustainability strategy.”
He continued: “It will ensure we further our mission to allow us to help more people to live a more healthy and sustainable life, we will be able to make a whole host of improvements to the product that will be better for the customer and the planet.”
DropChef’s growth has been rapid with an increase in revenue of 171% over the first quarter this year. This is in line with international trends where the market has expanded significantly and reflects growing consumer desire for healthier diets and more convenient delivery options.
The company’s aim is consistent with the Impact Ireland Fund Investment Objectives, financial and non-financial. According the the group, its driving mission is the delivery a positive social impact.
It will ensure we further our mission to allow us to help more people to live a more healthy and sustainable life, we will be able to make a whole host of improvements to the product that will be better for the customer and the planet.
VentureWave Capital’s investment represents a strategic stake in the DropChef company. Food entrepreneur Bobby Kerr and VentureWave Capital Managing Partner Brian Martin will join DropChef’s board.
Commenting on behalf of VentureWave Capital, Mr Martin said: “Consumers want to eat healthily but often can’t find an online, convenient and environmentally friendly option. DropChef solves this problem and we are delighted to be backing Ryan, Roman and Sam to help scale this rapidly expanding Irish business.”
Kieran McLoughlin, Venturewave Capital Managing Partner, continued: “We and DropChef are mission driven businesses. Our aim is to generate profit with a purpose. This investment will meet a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in terms of health, sustainability and education. We will be measuring and reporting on our social impact alongside the financial growth of the company. Impact Investing is all about doing well while doing good which is what we aim to achieve with DropChef.”
Since March of this year eGrocery spend has increased dramatically and Mr Roman Grogan, Co-Founder and COO commented that “we are very fortunate to have such a strong backing from the VentureWave Capital team who have deep entrepreneurial experience, there are a lot of VC firms out there but very few who really know the right questions to ask and how to properly assess a startup. We are continuing to see further growth and it is now very clear that this is a permanent shift in the psyche of the consumer who now, having ordered online, is much more likely to repeat this behaviour more frequently.”
