Early-stage FoodTech startup Chew acquired its Finnish competitor Carrot Kitchen

Early-stage Norwegian-based business Chew moved rapidly to acquire Finnish competitor Carrot Kitchen to foster a passion for healthy eating from a young age. Before expanding, Chew intends to consolidate its position in the Nordic market.

According to reports, most children don’t consume enough vegetables. Foods that have undergone extreme processing appear to be the rule rather than the exception. One study found that over a third of kids between the ages of 5 and 10 eat fewer than one serving of vegetables per day. This is a lifelong eating pattern that can also have negative health effects.

Chew, a recent entrant to the food industry, was founded in 2021 to transform the diet of the next generation. A web-based, interactive culinary platform created by the startup is geared toward the “tik-tok” generation.

The startup offers engaging culinary classes for children ages 6 to 14 together with games and educational materials. Through the use of gamification and digital technology, it is hoped to foster a generation that is more knowledgeable about nutrition and assist young people in learning how to cook.

Despite being a relatively new player, the Norwegian startup is working quickly to dominate the market and has recently acquired Carrot Kitchen to grow into the Finnish market.

Carrot Kitchen, a pedagogical culinary app, was released in 2020 with children in Finland ages 6 to 13 as its target audience. Since then, it has been downloaded more than 40.000 times globally. The firm was created by Olli Freese, Piritta Koivisto, and Emmi Kuusikko to teach lifelong cooking skills using a gamified smartphone app that blends pedagogy with the cuisine.

Mano Rashidi, the company’s founder, and CEO said: “The Carrot Kitchen team has created an incredible app, and we look forward to integrating it into our portfolio as part of our commitment to encourage and inform children all over the world to adopt healthier and more sustainable eating habits. Chew, which we hope offers an inspirational and instructive answer, aims to help kids throughout the world eat better and have a more diversified diet.

Through a combination of gamification and recipes from well-known chefs and food influencers, the Chew app, created by Mano Rashidi and Silje Rosness Dahle, seeks to inform, inspire, and urge kids to eat healthier and more sustainably. The founders, who were themselves, parents, understood that giving kids some control over what they eat makes them more likely to consume veggies and nutritious foods.

The fledgling firm has completed more than 10,000 sessions since its introduction and is used in schools as part of Food and Health classes, in addition to being able to acquire its Finnish rival.

“We couldn’t think of a better option than Chew to get behind Carrot Kitchen with the common purpose and passion for kids cooking,” says Olli Freese of Carrot Kitchen.

Nordic Angel Investors Are Berg Hjelle, Erik Tjelta, Arild Haavik, Gohar Avagyan, Christophe Joyau, Javad Mushtaq, Magdy Shehata, and Danish VC; Accelerace has so far supported the business.

With this acquisition, Chew will undoubtedly be able to take a bite out of international markets and establish itself as a dominant force in the Nordic region. In the upcoming years, it is intended to maintain this course and increase market penetration into the UK, US, and larger European markets.

“We observe enormous interest in cooking on SoMe (TikTok, Youtube, etc.) towards youngsters, but frequently a more passive consuming,” says Mano Rashidi. “With the help of clear step-by-step videos and a dash of gamification, we hope to capitalize on this passion and develop learning that is journey-based.”

Mano Rashidi added, “Similar to any game, you begin at Level 1 and hope to go on to the following level, and so forth. The number of food influencers is growing, and Chew wants to provide a platform where users can communicate and develop a greater interest in food, cooking, and recipes.

Image Credit: Chew