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§ Private Profile · Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Online marketplace connecting food producers with food service buyers for surplus, imperfect, and local foods, reducing waste.
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, FoodMaven operates an online marketplace that connects food producers with institutional buyers to sell surplus, imperfect, and local foods. The platform utilizes proprietary technology and logistics to distribute these discounted goods to commercial customers, including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and school districts. By offering inventory at discounts of 40 to 70 percent below standard wholesale prices, the enterprise has successfully diverted over two million tons of food from landfills. The company secured $2 million in early funding and attracted investment from notable industry figures, including former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb, who also joined the board of directors. Operating under executives like CEO Ben Deda with a peak workforce of 74 employees, the business established an early client base of more than 120 restaurant customers. FoodMaven was founded in October 2015 by Patrick Bultema.
FoodMaven has raised $34.3M across 3 funding rounds.
FoodMaven has raised $34.3M in total across 3 funding rounds.
FoodMaven has raised $34.3M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $15.3M Series B in December 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 2019 | $15.3M Series B | — | Sasha Bass, TAO Capital | Announced |
| Jan 24, 2019 | $10M Venture Round | Isaac Pritzker | — | Announced |
| Jan 1, 2018 | $9M Series A | — | Kevin Hartz, Broadway Angels, Comeback Capital, DNX Ventures, Flex Capital, Lazerow Ventures, Quadratura.it, Recursive Ventures, Richmond Global Ventures, Saints Capital, SignalFire, Slow Ventures, SNR, Spark Capital, WGI Group, Adam D'angelo, Brian O'kelley, Charlie Songhurst, Eric Ries, Eric Stein, Ethan Beard, Evangelos Simoudis, JAY Weintraub, Jeremy Lizt, Joanna Rees, JOE Zawadzki, KIM Perell, Mark Gerson, RON Hirson, Russell Fradin, Russ Fradin, Scott Faber, Tien Tzuo, Travis MAY, Warren Jenson, BOB Finzi, Chris Scoggins, Eric Roza, RAJ Atluru, Thomas Ahlborg, JON Erik Borgen | Announced |
FoodMaven is a foodtech company that builds Procurement AI software for foodservice operators, helping them optimize purchasing by comparing products across vendors based on price, sustainability, availability, and attributes. It serves restaurants, schools, hospitals, catering companies, and other institutional kitchens, solving the problems of manual procurement inefficiencies, food waste, and suboptimal buying decisions in a fragmented food system.[1][2][4] Originally focused on rescuing surplus and imperfect food through an online marketplace and logistics, FoodMaven has evolved to emphasize AI-driven tools like a browser extension shopping assistant, order guide optimization, and cost forecasting, enabling operators to access all relevant data across thousands of SKUs without changing platforms—saving time, reducing costs by up to half wholesale prices, and minimizing waste.[1][2][3]
The company sources "unsellable" local meats and produce from grocers, distributors, and farmers, redistributing it via its platform while donating surplus to food pantries, having saved millions of pounds of food annually.[1][3][6] This dual approach—waste reduction plus procurement intelligence—drives growth momentum, with scalable cloud infrastructure like Acumatica supporting rapid pivots, such as during pandemic shortages.[3]
FoodMaven was founded in 2015 in Colorado Springs by co-founder and CEO Patrick Bultema and another co-founder, motivated by the massive food waste in the U.S. commercial food system—hundreds of billions in lost value from surplus, imperfect, or oversupplied goods discarded by grocers, distributors, and producers.[1] Bultema, recognizing the scale after deep research, aimed to bridge logistics gaps that made redistribution uneconomical.[1]
The service officially launched in July 2016, starting with spreadsheets and QuickBooks before scaling to advanced ERP like Acumatica for big data handling and logistics integration.[1][3] Early traction came from grocers recovering revenue, buyers accessing high-quality local food at discounts, farmers selling surpluses, and hunger relief orgs receiving better donations—quickly gaining attention across the food industry.[1]
FoodMaven stands out in foodservice procurement through these key strengths:
FoodMaven rides the foodtech and sustainability tech wave, addressing a $1T+ global foodsystem plagued by 30-40% waste, fragmented procurement, and rising demands for local/ethical sourcing amid climate pressures and supply chain disruptions.[1][3] Timing is ideal post-pandemic, where shortages highlighted procurement flaws; their AI enables quick pivots, like during 2020 disruptions, while big data optimization transforms legacy industries slow to digitize.[3][6]
Market forces favoring them include AI adoption in B2B procurement, e-commerce growth in foodservice, and ESG mandates pushing waste reduction—positioning FoodMaven to influence ecosystems by standardizing data across 1,000s of SKUs/vendors, empowering operators, suppliers, and nonprofits.[2][5] As a bridge between physical logistics and digital AI, it accelerates foodtech's shift toward efficient, zero-waste systems.[1][2]
FoodMaven is poised to expand its Procurement AI dominance, scaling browser tools and forecasting to more platforms while deepening logistics for waste rescue amid tightening sustainability regs and AI advancements.[2][5] Trends like generative AI for supply chains, real-time pricing volatility from climate events, and foodservice consolidation will amplify demand, potentially evolving it into a full-stack foodsystem OS influencing vendor standards and policy.[3][6]
Tying back to its waste-eliminating mission, FoodMaven's tech-logistics blend positions it to not just optimize buys, but reshape America's food economy for efficiency and equity.[1]
FoodMaven has raised $34.3M in total across 3 funding rounds.
FoodMaven's investors include Sasha Bass, Tao Capital, Isaac Pritzker, Kevin Hartz, Broadway Angels, Comeback Capital, DNX Ventures, Flex Capital, Lazerow Ventures, quadratura.it, Recursive Ventures, Richmond Global Ventures.