Cologne-based AI foodtech firm Foodforecast, which specializes in forecasting ultra-fresh food demand and production, has secured €8 million in Series A funding from SHIFT Invest, ECBF, Future Food Fund, and Aeronaut Invest GmbH.
- Established in 2022 by Justus Lauten, Foodforecast specializes in demand and production forecasting for ultra-fresh food supply chains. The company develops AI-powered solutions that enable supermarkets, bakeries, and food-service operators to plan production and ordering with high precision, reducing both food waste and lost sales.
- Foodforecast’s platform provides intra-day forecasts, updating predictions multiple times per day to optimize store production and replenishment. For warehouses and suppliers, it delivers daily AI-based demand forecasts, ensuring optimal order quantities and minimizing stockouts.
- Since its commercial launch, the technology has been adopted across several thousand stores in Europe, helping customers reduce food waste by up to 30%, increase sales by up to 11%, and automate over 90% of previously manual ordering and production processes.
- The system operates by integrating directly into existing workflows, combining human decision-making with AI insights. It calculates forecasted demand for ultra-fresh items, those with a shelf life of just hours to a day, and translates these forecasts into actionable production and ordering plans. To date, Foodforecast’s technology has contributed to saving more than 8,800 tons of food across its client base, demonstrating measurable economic and environmental impact.
Details of the deal
- With the fresh Series A funding, Foodforecast plans to expand its AI-powered demand and production forecasting platform across European markets, accelerate product development, and scale its impact on efficiency and sustainability in the ultra-fresh food sector.
“This Series A represents a major milestone for Foodforecast. Our ambition is to fundamentally rethink how ultra-fresh food is planned and produced. With our new investors on board, we are ready to scale our technology internationally and set a new benchmark for planning, efficiency, and sustainability," explains Justus Lauten, Founder and CEO.
- The company will also grow its team across product, tech, and go-to-market roles to support international expansion and enterprise-ready solutions, enabling food businesses to reduce waste, improve profitability, and optimize operations at scale.
