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Pronto on-demand food service raises £1m seed round

Food startup Pronto, whose founders slept in their production factory for six months while creating the platform, has raised £1m to “build the food infrastructure of the future”.

The round was led by Playfair Capital and joined by an impressive roster of others, including Seedcamp, The London Co-Investment Fund, Ballpark Ventures, The Next Web founder Patrick de Laive and serial investor Floris Rost van Tonningen.

The company set out last year to deliver “restaurant quality food” from a (potentially embarrassed) person wearing a bow-tie in just 20 minutes and with just three taps.

They have since moved from Italy to join London’s MassChallenge accelerator programme.

Londoners have taken to the on-demand dining idea, with Pronto customers using the service on average five times each month.

Pronto says it is not only making great food but also reducing waste by using technology to procure and deliver their goods.

The funds will be used to increase their penetration and expand outside of central London.

CEO James Roy Poulter, who has delivered more than 300 meals personally, said: “We have been so deeply involved in the problem – quite literally living in it – that no one  has been able to build such relevant technology so fast, to solve the real problems of bringing incredible food to our customers.”

Joseph Charlesworth, partner at lead investor Playfair Capital who also sits on the Pronto board, said: “The amount of technology they have built under the hood is impressive and controls everything from food procurement to processing and delivery.

“It’s the only way to offer consistent and excellent quality across the entire production and service chain whilst enabling transparency to customers on  food ingredients – something which is becoming increasingly important to more health-conscious Londoners who want to know exactly what they’re eating and where it came from.”

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