Wroclaw fund backed startup digitizing European gastronomy

05.05.2023

The Wroclaw-based Unfold.vc fund has invested PLN 1 million in the Slovenian startup Proky.io. It's a platform that connects, among others, restaurants and hotels with food suppliers: wholesalers, local farmers or distributors. According to research, thanks to its proprietary solutions, buyers place orders as much as 36 times faster, order errors are reduced by 80 percent, and restaurants and hotels save about 20 percent in costs.

Proky.io is a startup from Slovenia, operating since 2021, with a mission to digitize the European HoReCa industry. With AI-based process optimization, detailed analytics and an intuitive e-platform, it saves time and money for chefs and managers, and provides an additional sales channel for suppliers. Proky.io’s technology is also expected to help reduce the waste of unused products, which currently generates huge costs across the industry.

Intensive expansion in Poland planned

So far, the company has grown mainly in the Slovenian market, where it became a leader in the automation of food service there. It then moved its headquarters to the UK to develop and scale the business from there. With the support of investors, including the Unfold.vc fund from Wroclaw, the company’s founders decided to enter Poland, recognizing the great similarity of the markets. They stress that such a comprehensive solution has not been available on the Vistula so far. That’s why Proky.io is planning intensive expansion here, and already has a track record of cooperation with, among others, Żabka chain stores, Happy Fish and Meet&Eat.

Poland is one of the largest food markets in Europe. Foodtech is developing rapidly here. We see potential not only in customers, i.e. restaurants, hotels and suppliers. There are a lot of food delivery and waste reduction operators here. We see them not as competitors, but as potential partners. Our goal is to improve the HoReCa industry, especially in such difficult times for it. We are already in Wroclaw and Warsaw, and this month we are expanding to Krakow, Lodz and Katowice.
- Valentina Metez, founder and CEO of Proky.io

Useful e-solutions for the food service industry

Proky.io digitizes supply chains and automates processes using artificial intelligence and integration of individual systems. For customers, it provides detailed analytics on the market and sales itself. Restaurateurs and hoteliers can track orders on the e-platform, and place them collectively with a few clicks within a single shopping cart.

They can choose their suppliers and individual products in a publicly accessible search engine, including from users who are not yet registered. For suppliers, Proky.io is a streamlining of the sales process and an open base of potentially new customers, allowing for faster growth without additional costs.

The startup gives users access to an advanced platform: the ability to chat, purchase history for easy replay or ongoing notifications regarding orders. Suppliers, in turn, get their own B2B store and targeted advertising on or off the platform.

“Through insufficiently digitized and still outdated sales and purchasing processes, HoReCa is losing huge amounts of money and valuable time. Our technology is a benefit to suppliers, where, as we observe, usually one person manages hundreds of customers, and it is very expensive to build your own B2B platform. In addition, all of these activities are not based on data analysis, which is, after all, crucial today in identifying customer needs. So we facilitate effective planning and management.”
– Valentina Metez

Wroclawians are counting on success

So far, funds in the amount of 200 thousand euros for business development have been put up by the founders themselves. In addition, Proky.io received a grant from the Slovenian Enterprise Fund. It also underwent acceleration within Google for Startups. The company was also supported by the Polish fund Unfold.vc, which took up convertible bonds worth nearly PLN 1 million.

“In foodservice today, it is more important than ever to understand the application of new technologies that automate specific processes. This definitely makes things easier for the HoReCa industry, which, first through the pandemic and now the macroeconomic situation, must take special care of financial stability. At the same time, let’s remember that gastronomy, due to its high competitiveness, is very receptive. Proky.io shows great potential for growth, and has experienced founders on board who know the realities of the industry.”
– Magdalena Surowiec, Partner at Unfold.vc

Proky.io is currently planning an investment round, and wants to use the funds raised to, among other things, expand its mobile app, new functionalities and expand its sales team in Poland.