Not So Dark bags $80 million in Series B funding round

French FoodTech startup Not So Dark has raised $80 million in Series B funding, led by Kharis Capital and Verlinvest, in partnership with Conviviality Ventures.

The round brings the firm’s total funding to date to $105 million.

Not So Dark launched in 2020 with delivery only menus sold on Uber Eats and Deliveroo. It has since been deployed across France with tech centric operations running out of its own dark kitchens.

Founders Clément Benoit (former Founder and CEO of Stuart) and Alexandre Haggai now aim to pivot the business around traditional restaurants instead of dedicated dark kitchens.

Benoit says: “Pivoting and starting from zero was a massive undertaking. But we saw so clearly that the future of the online delivery industry was in forging partnerships with traditional restaurants – not competing with them. We’re honoured that our initial investors trusted our vision.”

“The new funding will be used to strengthen our market leadership in France and scale across Europe at a very fast pace.”

Daniel Grossman, Managing Partner at Kharis Capital, comments: “We’ve studied the dark kitchens market and watched its rapid development. We believe NSD cracked the model that essentially allows all parties involved to profitably grow their business while offering customers alternative and convenient food offerings.”

“In just one year, it has already established itself as a major figure in the sector. We are pleased to accompany the founders of this French gem in this new stage of its growth towards European leadership."

Raphael Thiolon, Executive Director at Verlinvest, adds: “Clem, Alex and the Not So Dark team are building a unique platform that adds tremendous value to the whole food delivery ecosystem: a greater choice of exciting brands and high quality meal options for consumers; additional volumes and profits for restaurants at no extra cost or complexity; and extensive new supply for food delivery players - enabling them to broaden their offer, especially outside of big cities.”

“They’re using technology, R&D and disruptive marketing to improve consumers’ food habits, which is at the core of Verlinvest’s investment strategy. We’re thrilled to welcome Not So Dark into our portfolio and to help them build the dominant virtual brand platform in Europe.”