FoodOp secures £4.4m to bring AI to kitchens still run on paper and spreadsheets
FoodOp, a SaaS co-pilot for professional chefs, has raised £4.4m to expand into the UK and US and make kitchen operations easier for teams stretched by staffing and costs. The round was led by US VC firm MK Capital, with participation from existing investor the Footprint Fund.
The goal is simple: move kitchens off manual workflows and into an intuitive system that automates procurement, menu planning, and budgeting. Less admin. Lower food costs. Less waste.
Why this matters for hospitality operators
Foodservice is a £2.3t global industry, yet up to 70% of businesses still manage core tasks with spreadsheets, Word docs, or pen and paper. That inefficiency shows up in overtime, uneven GP, and inconsistent guest experience.
Food waste also remains a major climate and cost issue, responsible for an estimated ~8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and around £700b in annual losses. Cutting waste is one of the fastest levers to improve P&L and ESG reporting without touching guest quality.
What FoodOp does
FoodOp combines an easy interface with AI-driven automation to simplify the day-to-day. Teams can forecast demand, cost menus, manage suppliers, standardize recipes, and track waste in one place.
It also supports ESL displays for buffets and counters, so allergen, nutrition, and pricing updates push live across sites-no reprinting, no guesswork.
Adoption and results
FoodOp has more than doubled revenue and users in each of the past two years. Over 2,000 chefs across 700+ kitchens use it daily, including Thomas Franks, which operates more than 350 sites across the UK and Europe.
"FoodOp is the first food management platform that scales well with our chef teams and has been immensely helpful in supporting our sustainability goals," say Gavin Young, group culinary lead, and Genevieve Boast, group head of sustainability at Thomas Franks.
Measured environmental impact
"One of the most motivating aspects of scaling FoodOp is that we are simultaneously scaling our environmental impact. In the past year, FoodOp has helped reduce 4,500 tons of CO₂e through lower food waste and more sustainable menu planning," says Nichlas Saul, co-founder and CEO of FoodOp.
Saul adds, "Menu management systems aren't new, but when 70% of kitchens still rely on pen and paper, it's clear existing tools haven't been accessible enough. Our role model is Canva-FoodOp gives every chef a simple, intuitive way to save time, reduce costs, and focus on great culinary experiences."
US expansion and category ambition
MK Capital is backing the company's push into North America. "Foodservice is one of the largest and least digitised industries globally, and FoodOp is uniquely positioned to change that," says Mark Koulogeorge, managing partner at MK Capital. "We believe FoodOp can become the Canva for professional kitchens and a category-defining company."
To support growth, FoodOp plans to double its team over the next 12 months and invest heavily in product development for professional kitchens.
What this means for hotels, caterers, and event venues
- Menu engineering with live cost and GP targets across sites and service styles (banqueting, retail, staff dining).
- Procurement automation: approved suppliers, negotiated pricing, substitutions, and compliance built into ordering.
- Allergen and nutrition updates pushed to ESLs, digital menus, and recipe packs-reducing risk and rework.
- Waste tracking and demand forecasting to cut overproduction for events and buffets.
- Centralized reporting for finance and sustainability teams-CO₂e, waste, and cost reduction in one view.
How to pilot with minimal disruption
- Start with one cluster or flagship site; select 30-50 high-volume SKUs and your top 20 dishes.
- Connect current suppliers and pricing; set target GPs and waste thresholds.
- Roll out ESLs to buffet/counter areas where updates are frequent (allergens, pricing, portions).
- Train a core group (head chef + sous + stock controller); standardize recipes and yields.
- Track baseline vs. 30/60/90-day results: food cost %, waste (kg), and admin hours saved.
Bottom line
Kitchens don't need more dashboards-they need fewer steps. FoodOp's raise signals operator demand for tools that remove admin, protect margin, and make sustainability measurable.
If you're building your AI roadmap for venues, hotels, or contract catering, see practical use cases and playbooks here: AI for Hospitality & Events.
Your membership also unlocks:
