Investing in Stokelp

We are thrilled to announce our investment in Stokelp, a B2B marketplace revolutionizing the way food industrials buy and resell their agri-food raw material stocks. 

OneRagtime, alongside AFI Ventures, Rothschild & Co through its R&CO4Generations foundation, and Better Angle, is leading Stokelp's €3M seed round.

Stokelp provides a unique marketplace for food manufacturers, empowering them to manage better and maximize the value of their overstocks, including fruit and vegetables, seafood, meat, dairy, and more. 

The company's mission is to transform surplus raw materials from one manufacturer into valuable resources for others, combating industrial food waste. As a true pioneer, Stokelp aims to initiate a European movement to redefine industrial sourcing, purchasing, and consumption methods.

Every year, a staggering 1.6 million tonnes of surplus food raw materials from the agri-food industry, equivalent to 50,000 truckloads, end up being incinerated in Europe. These materials, although still consumable, need more viable alternatives for reuse, resulting in unnecessary destruction and further CO2 emissions and pollution from the production of new raw materials. 

Stokelp's founders, William Launay, and Tanguy de Cottignies, recognized this wasteful and ecologically damaging cycle after accumulating nearly two decades of experience in the food industry, notably at GreenShoot, where they first met.

Their solution is both simple and innovative: a 100% digital platform that connects food industry manufacturers facing overstocking issues. Clients can exploit l their inventory which would be otherwise incinerated. Buyers access goods that can't be found on the market because of product scarcity and shortages and receive alerts as soon as desired products become available. 

Stokelp enables manufacturers to completely revamp their sourcing, purchasing, and consumption methods, allowing them to adapt better to the future challenges of the food industry. In France alone, over 17,000 food and beverage industrials could benefit from this innovative solution.

So, why did we invest in Stokelp?

1. Founders: Tanguy and William impressed us with their deep understanding of the business, their ability to execute quickly, and their strong ambition to scale the distribution, purchase, and resale of raw materials across Europe. 
2. Traction: Stokelp is experiencing rapid growth, driven by strong word-of-mouth referrals and network effects. As a result, the platform has witnessed organic expansion across multiple countries and verticals. By capturing customer preferences and purchasing needs, Stokelp automatically notifies customers when their desired products become available, resulting in high weekly usage rates and impressive conversion rates.
3. Market Size and Acquisition Strategy: Stokelp initially focused on the fish, fruit, and vegetable verticals, which represent only a fraction of the total addressable market. In Q2, the company expanded its offerings to include the meat segment, known for its larger average basket, and the dairy market, which constitutes 60% of the agri-food market volume, totaling €500 billion in Europe. Stokelp identifies manufacturers struggling with overstocking issues and swiftly converts them to join their unique purchasing and resale platform, leveraging the integration of suppliers and brokers of raw materials.

The funding received will enable Stokelp to strengthen its platform, solidify its existing verticals (fruit and vegetables, meat and fish), and explore new ones (oils, dried products). With these objectives in mind, the startup plans to double its talent pool and recruit around ten new talents, particularly technical profiles to enhance product expertise and sales staff.

We are extremely excited to support Tanguy, William, and the entire Stokelp team on their mission to build a category-defining business in the impact food sector. 

Welcome to the OneRagtime family!