Belgian start-up Take Eat Easy filed for bankruptcy, announced Tuesday its co-founder, Chloé Roose, in an official communiqué. From Tuesday morning onward it was no longer possible to place orders on the internet site of the start-up.
The co-founder explained that the filing for bankruptcy was attributable to two factors. Firstly, the income generated did not yet allow covering the expenses of the start-up. Also, Take Eat Easy did not succeed in once again raising much-needed equity.
“In one year we experienced monthly growth of over 30%, we surpassed the milestone of one million orders, our partner restaurants portfolio grew from 450 to 3,200 and our client base went up from 30,000 to 350,000. Notwithstanding all of this, we are now filing for bankruptcy,” regretted Chloé Roose.
Monday evening, Le Soir announced that the start-up was up for sale, due to lack of investors, and no longer being able to deal with its expansion in various cities of Europe.
Founded in Brussels in September 2013 after having gone through the Nest’Up incubator, Take Eat Easy, the start-up specialized in the home delivery of meals on bicycle, played the role of gold nugget in the field. In 2015 it was able to raise 16 million euros in two operations, with the German incubator Rocket Internet, and through British investment funders DN Capital and Piton Capital, as well as with funds from Eight Roads Ventures (European subsidiary of the giant Fidelity). Enough to fund its expansion, particularly in Belgian cities outside the capital.
In fact it ventured first into the international market: France, the United Kingdom and Spain, before going into Anvers, Liège and Gand in 2016. It covered 20 cities in total. Take Eat Easy grew from a staff of 10 to 160.
Last May, Take Eat Easy boasted having over 250 partner restaurants in the Belgian capital and delivering between 500 and 1,000 orders per day, depending on the season.
Take Eat Easy however faced considerable competition, mainly from Deliveroo, a British start-up launched almost a year ago in Belgium.
(Source: Belga)
