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DEALMAKERS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
CREAM RISING TO THE TOP
By Ged Henderson
The Modern Milkman’s round is growing fast as it looks to deliver on a global scale. The Colne based online grocery service has secured a £2.25m investment as part of wider fundraising plans to support its ongoing scaling and sustainability efforts.
The cash injection from Praetura Ventures is the latest stage in a remarkable business journey that began with a few friends, an acclaimed television documentary series and a single milk round in Pendle.
Modern Milkman began life in 2018 and today it operates 16 hubs across England, with another office in Lille, France.
The business works with independent suppliers and farmers to deliver grocery products, including eggs, yogurt and bakery items as well as fruit and vegetables.
The Modern Milkman has saved more than 46.5 million plastic bottles so far with its modern twist on the traditional ‘milkman’ delivering groceries in returnable and reusable packaging, all of which is plastic-free.
The market is grocery but make no mistake - this is very much a tech company. It uses intelligent data and analytics to map out milk rounds, assess demand and reduce carbon emissions.
The business works closely with decision intelligence firm Peak AI, another Praetura portfolio company, to combine information, such as shelf-life dates, customer ordering patterns and warehouse data to ensure customers receive deliveries on time with minimum waste in the supply chain.
It is an approach that has caught the eye, singled out the business for big things ahead, and led to it scooping the overall judges award and fastest growing company of the year category in this year’s GP Bullhound Northern Tech Awards.
The company has a unique and innovative approach to the grocery sector
Simon Mellin, a founder and the chief executive of Modern Milkman, had previously worked with grocery brands such as HelloFresh. He comes from a strong Lancashire farming and food background.
He says: “As a business proud of our Northern roots we’re thrilled to have secured the support of Praetura Ventures for the next phase of our journey.
“We’re excited by the opportunity to collaborate and learn from them and their impressive portfolio of tech businesses as we continue on our objective to achieve the scale and consumer loyalty that we need to realise our vision to reset our throwaway society.”
The Modern Milkman started life as one round in Pendle. The idea was sparked by Simon and friends watching Sir David Attenborough’s acclaimed Blue Planet documentaries and the obvious need to reduce plastic waste.
The business says its mission is to “revolutionise consumer habits” by delivering fresh ways to return and reuse packaging, shop ethically, and feel good about convenience.
Its milk rounds deliver three times a week and are easily managed online so that shopping sustainably is convenient and accessible.
The Modern Milkman began raising institutional cash at the start of the decade. In January 2021, ETF Partners (The Environmental Technologies Fund) announced a £5m investment in the business to enable it to accelerate growth plans.
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