Crowdcube #FundedClub Member Farmdrop Completes £3M Funding Round Led By Atomico

Continuing to find success wherever it goes, Crowdcube #FundedClub member and award-winning online marketplace in the UK, Farmdrop, announced this week that it has completed its £3M funding round led by Atomico, which was reportedly founded by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström.

As previously reported, Farmdrop hit Crowdcube in 2014 and secured its initial £400,000 quickly. By the end of its funding round, the company raised £748,880 from 352 investors. The company allows local food producers to sell direct; a “click-and-collect farmers’ market.” The company’s key mission is to create and grow sustainable local food systems. By cutting out the middlemen, producers receive 80% of the retail price and customers can save money.

Here’s how FarmDrop works:

• Members sign up and shop: People join their local FarmDrop and order online as they would from any other online grocery retailer.

• Producers get their final orders: Farmers, fishermen, and bakers get their final orders three days before the drop, which helps them pick, catch and bake their orders.

• The FarmDrop 1: producers bring the produce to the venue: The producers arrive first and put their orders into crates or bags for the customers.

• The FarmDrop 2: members pick up their shop: The Members, who have put in an order, pick up their shopping.

• How each FarmDrop starts: Each FarmDrop is started by a community-minded entrepreneur – the website calls hem Keepers. Once their application is successful, they need to find a venue (to host the FarmDrop) and enough Members and Producers to have a successful weekly market. All Producers pass due diligence process before they can start trading on the platform.

During an interview with Crowdcube, Zennström stated:

“We’ve been extremely impressed with the team and their growth so far so we’re proud to become an investor.  We’re especially pleased to be joining their existing bench of founder-funders, and look forward to providing our own unique value to Ben and his team as they begin to scale the business.”

Founder of Farmdrop, Ben Pugh, added:

“Farmdrop is on mission to fix the food chain by making it easy to buy the best food from the best local producers. We believe everyone deserves a more delicious world and this investment will help us continue to improve the product and spread the word about the Farmdrop revolution.”