BPI leads €5.9 million Series A of NeoTaste, one of the fastest growing consumer platforms in the gastronomy space
Burda Principal Investments (BPI), the growth capital arm of media and technology company Hubert Burda Media, is leading the current financing round for Neotaste, the German restaurant app that digitally connects guests and gastronomy. The B2C platform allows restaurants to offer exclusive deals and users to discover new locations. Existing investors such as Userlane founder Kajetan Uhlig and Flaschenpost co-founders and current CEOs Niklas Plath and Christopher Huesmann also participated in the Series A round of €5.9 million.
BPI adds digital platform for restaurants and their customers to its portfolio
BPI’s investment thesis revolves around supporting high-growth digital platforms for consumers and SMEs, subscription models, and ventures that leverage network effects. And that’s where Neotaste comes in. Their comprehensive app-based solution integrates customer-restaurant interactions: consumers get exclusive dining deals and restaurants benefit from an accessible platform to enhance customer engagement. More than 300,000 users already have access to deals via the subscription app, which are currently offered exclusively by more than 1,300 restaurants in thirteen German cities. With the new funding, the startup plans to expand to other German cities and internationally, and to add additional products and services to the platform.
“The two founders and their lean team have developed an engaging product. The platform is highly appreciated by both consumers and restaurants,” explains Friedrich von Wulffen, Investment Manager at BPI. Julian von Eckartsberg, Managing Director Europe at BPI adds: “Neotaste has grown strongly in recent months and has been able to increase its turnover exponentially. This is a testament to their scalability and strong network effects, which not only make them an ideal partner for us, but also shows us that expanding their offering into other German cities and the international market is the next logical step.”
Continuous growth
Neotaste co-founders Hendrik Sander and Tobias Düser launched the app in September 2021 after using the Corona lockdowns to prepare. The first city where deals were available was Hannover. Since then, they have gradually rolled out the concept to twelve other German cities, most recently adding Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt. While subscribers benefit from offers such as ‘two main courses for the price of one’, restaurants can use Neotaste to promote themselves, generate new customers and receive customer reviews.
