Veat to launch plant-based food vending machines in Stockholm

The Swedish start-up has raised €500,000 in pre-seed funding from four venture capital investors

Veat, a Swedish plant-based food start-up, has raised €500,000 in a pre-seed funding round. The cash injection comes at a time it prepares the launch of its plant-based vending machines across Stockholm.

Pale Blue Dot, the Swedish venture capital fund that entered the market in June, is among the investors backing the company in the pre-seed round.

German venture capital firm Orange People Ventures also participated in the round, alongside individual investors Robert Ahldin and Daniel Skavén Ruben.

Andreas Karlsson founded Veat last year with the mission to help consumers access plant-based food with the convinience of a grab-and-go system. The company entered the market focused on building a network of plant-based food vending machine across Europe.

“We cook and prepare our fresh meals locally at Stora Essingen and deliver them daily to our vending machines throughout the city,” reads a statement on the company website. Stora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm.

Veat vending machines stock a range of plant-based foods, including salads, wraps, ready-to-eat meals, snacks and drinks, with prices ranging from 29 Swedish Krona ($3.37) to 85 Swedish Krona ($9.89).

Expansion plans to enter other European cities are in the works for next year.

Hampus Jakobsson, general partner at Pale Blue Dot, said: “Veat has the potential to fundamentally change the grab-and-go segment in European capitals, and drive the shift towards a more sustainable food system.”

Jakobsson argued that Veat’s innovative business model is lowering the barriers for people to adopt more nutritious and sustainable dietary patterns. “We’re excited to join at an early stage and support Veat in its journey to make Europe a little greener,” he concluded.