EQS-News: Heliad AG: Heliad AG leads seven figure Pre-Series A round of Berlin-based ChefCoco

Heliad AG leads seven figure Pre-Series A round of Berlin-based ChefCoco as it nears profitability

• ChefCoco, one of the largest corporate meal services providers in Berlin has raised a seven figure round of financing led by Heliad AG and existing investors
• ChefCoco’s unique approach in building and operating a central industrial scale production kitchen has helped it gain a quality and cost advantage in a highly competitive market
• Winning contracts from peers and operating with 100% retention has allowed it to scale operations and is on track to reach profitability in the coming months
• ChefCoco’s production advantages set the stage to enter new distribution verticals

Frankfurt am Main, Thursday 11^th of April 2024 – Heliad AG (Stock ticker A7A, ISIN DE0001218063) leads ChefCoco’s seven figure Pre-Series A round, partnering up with founder & CEO Shaminder Dhillon and his team of domain experts on their ambitious mission to serve meals to every table, every day, starting with offices. Existing investors joined the new financing round, including Atlantic FoodLabs and several renowned German business angels such as SB21 and Planetly founder Benedikt Franke.

Smart solution to a well-known problem – ChefCoco is closing the increasing gap between healthy, convenient and affordable meals for companies. Employees enjoy a wide selection of meals, freshly cooked by Michelin-trained staff which can be ordered through the ChefCoco app. The company has built its own industrial scale production kitchen, already one of the largest in Berlin and set-up a modular approach to further scale production capabilities. This gives the team both a cost advantage in production as well as in being able to procure high quality ingredients in bulk at discounted prices. All meals are delivered in its branded reusable containers which are picked up and dropped off daily. This approach also sets a new level of sustainability by cutting packaging or food waste.

Self-propelled distribution – ChefCoco's approach has made substantial ground in the past six months to now become the leading provider of corporate meal services in Berlin, winning clients from peers and operating with 100% retention. ChefCoco is setting a new standard against conventional solutions with a flexible and nutrition-informative offer. The company's partnership strategy including meal subsidization drives high customer engagement, with the average employee ordering multiple times per week. This not only fosters exceptional word-of-mouth promotion but also strengthens the product-led growth model, resulting in above-average levels of customer loyalty.

Exceptional business case – The market opportunity that ChefCoco is addressing is significant. The market for ready-to-eat meals, globally a USD 750bn+ market, presents immense growth opportunities. ChefCoco's blend of quality, sustainability, and affordability positions the company uniquely in this growing market. Above all, its capital-efficient model forms the basis for its above-average unit economics. Fuelled by its exponentially growing customer base, economies of scale will make scaling particularly attractive.

Strong and complementary founding team – The executive team's diverse backgrounds ranging from large international corporations to diverse startups and ultimately Michelin-starred restaurants combines strong expertise in operations, upscaling and culinary cuisine. The passionate vision of the Australian founder Shaminder Dhillon and his team to innovate food delivery further strengthens our confidence in the capability to scale the business model, further expand revenues and become a major player in the respective field to serve millions of office lunches every day in the future. This collective experience is a source of our strong belief and we are excited to back this team in setting new industry standards.

About ChefCoco

The ready-to-eat meal provider, ChefCoco, was founded in 2021 in Berlin by experienced culinary and business experts to revolutionize the FoodTech industry. The company currently offers a corporate meal delivery service, enabling customers to experience flexible healthy meals and save cooking time. Thereby closing the gap between traditional food delivery and meal kits, providing affordable, healthy, and convenient meals. ChefCoco streamlines the food-ordering experience with their self-developed application, enabling users to effortlessly personalize their weekly menu, adjust their health and taste preferences, or skip a meal. Visit their website and Instagram for more information.

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wololo GmbH
E-Mail: hello@chefcoco.com

About Heliad

Heliad (Stock ticker A7A, ISIN DE0001218063) is a listed investment company with a mission to empower both entrepreneurs and investors. The company invests in market leading companies across various verticals and regions to power their next phase of growth. As a listed company and through our strong team and strategic partners, Heliad can support companies pre, at and post IPO and act as a gateway to public equity capital markets. An evergreen structure allows Heliad to act independently of usual fund lifecycles and provides shareholders with unique access to pre-IPO market returns without any restrictions or limitations in terms of investment size and term commitment. For more information about Heliad, please visit www.heliad.com and follow on LinkedIn to stay updated.

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