Ahold Delhaize, Empire Cos. are among global grocery companies forming tech investment fund

Five grocery companies operating around the world, including Ahold Delhaize and Sobeys’ parent Empire Cos., have formed a venture capital fund to invest in emerging grocery technologies.

The fund, W23 Global, will seek to invest $125 million in the next five years, they said. Joining Netherlands-based Ahold and Canada-based Empire Cos. in the venture are U.K.-based Tesco, South Africa-based Shoprite, and Australia-based Woolworths Group. The fund will seek to identify common challenges that its partners face, such as personalization, value chain issues, and sustainability, and will support start-ups and entrepreneurs to develop solutions that address those challenges, Ahold Delhaize said.

“We aim to offer our investors incomparable access to transformative innovation in grocery and sustainability worldwide,” Ingrid Maes, who was named CEO and chief investment officer of W23 Global.

Maes is currently managing director of Woolworth’s W23 Australia venture capital fund. That fund has backed several Australian startups, including companies in healthcare technology, ecommerce, and a handful of food startups, including Australian plant-based meat alternative concerns All G Foods and Harvest B, according to venture investment information website Pitchbook. Founded in 2020, W23 Australia has also invested in some U.S.-based food companies, including plant-based dairy concern Spero Foods and meal kit company Marley Spoon, both of which are no longer part of W23’s holdings, according to Pitchbook.

A spokesperson for W23 Global could not be reached for further comment.

Each of the five retail companies is an equal partner in W23 Global, and all  five CEOs will sit on the fund’s investment committee. The fund will be based in the U.K.

“As pioneers in retail innovation for more than 150 years, Ahold Delhaize has consistently led the way in investing in the customer value proposition,” said Frans Muller, Ahold Delhaize CEO. “We look forward to enhancing our efforts by partnering with other industry leaders and maximizing our collective impact. Together with best-in-class start-ups and scale-ups, we strongly believe we can further drive retail innovation, foster sustainability, and deliver greater value to communities worldwide.”

The fund will specifically seek to support technology companies that are seeking to:

“Our ambition is to offer our portfolio companies faster pathways to global scale, without being exposed to a venture fund anchored by a single strategic investor,” Maes said in an interview with Australian website startupdaily.net.