Launched a year ago in Brussels, Menu Next Door just raised €1.75M (almost $2M) in a seed round, from VC firms Index Ventures, Local Globe, Kima Ventures and the well known Parisian startup accelerator TheFamily, which . After Brussels and Paris, the Belgian platform, allowing people to either order menus from their neighbours or cook for them, is now launching in London, following this first round.
The social vision of Menu Next Door brings together people who like to experiment home-cooked food and those who like to cook, it’s as simple as that. It turns out that, this collaborative and unique business model might be a real alternative to already existent food startup such as Take Eat Easy, Frichti or Food Chéri.
It is not a food delivery startup and there is no food delivery option, the customer has to pick up the menu he ordered by himself, meaning no fleet of cyclists or drivers for the startup to manage.
By putting in touch individuals, the service lowers the final price of the product, indeed, the average price is €10 for a menu including a starter, a dish, and a dessert.
Today, there are 900 amateurs and professional cooks on the platform, 600 in Brussels and 300 in Paris, where the company launched in January, and a growing community of 110,000 users in total, making Menu Next the biggest food community of that kind in both cities. Currently available in two cities, the startup is now bringing its platform to London and growing its workforce, thanks to this substantial fundraising confirming the viability of such an ambitious and innovative food platform.