# Food Foundry

> Food Foundry is a VC fund in Chicago backing Software and Food and Beverage. See 9 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Chicago, United States
- Total investments: 9
- Last investment: Apr 2024
- Lead investor: 89%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thefoodfoundrychi
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/foodfoundrychi
- Website: https://www.thefoodfoundry.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodFoundryChi

Food Foundry is a growth accelerator program that provides promotion solutions to enhance business growth for catering industries. The Food Foundry supports, connects, and propels innovative startups who are reimagining the food industry. Food Foundry is a program by Relish Works built in partnership with Gordon Food Service and 1871.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Food Foundry. Shizune tracks 5 team members at Food Foundry. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/food-foundry?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 5 | 56% |
| Food and Beverage | 4 | 44% |
| Restaurants | 3 | 33% |
| Information Technology | 3 | 33% |
| SaaS | 2 | 22% |

21 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-Seed | 6 | 67% |
| Seed | 2 | 22% |
| Grant | 1 | 11% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 5 | 56% |
| Canada | 1 | 11% |
| Australia | 1 | 11% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 11% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ashley Hartman | Mentor | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ashley-hartman |
| Jason Starr | Mentor | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jason-starr-a43d |
| Laura Habegger | Head | 2 | — |
| Luke Saunders | Mentor | 0 | — |
| Rebecca Sholiton | Entrepreneur-In-Residence | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Foodini | Foodini is an app that enables users to develop a customized profile of their dietary requirements and connects those with food allergies and intolerances with the restaurants and menu items that are most suitable for them. | $15K | Grant | Apr 02, 2024 |  |
| FlexSea | FlexSea develops novel biomaterials derived from renewable marine resources to replace current primary plastic packaging. | $2.4M | Seed | Oct 03, 2023 |  |
| Forever Ware | Forever Ware specializes in offering eco-friendly takeout containers. Its containers are available at a network of food vendors, restaurants, and grocery stores in the Twin Cities. | $75K | Pre-Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| EZ Chow | Multi Channel White Label Digital Ordering solution for Restaurant and Hospitality Organizations. Single or Multi-Unit Concept. | $75K | Pre-Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| Tavolo | Tavolo is an AI driven data analytics and automated marketing platform for restaurants, driving revenue for business owners | $160K | Pre-Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| Sampoll | Sampoll connects consumers and brands through product sampling experiences, rewards, and insights. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut. | $75K | Pre-Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| Feedback | The Feedback app creates a win-win solution for restaurant owners and customers. Customers can browse hundreds of restaurants and order food for 20-70% off during end-of-day and off-peak hours. Helping restaurants reduce food waste and capitalize on excess capacity. | $75K | Pre-Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| EZ Chow | Multi Channel White Label Digital Ordering solution for Restaurant and Hospitality Organizations. Single or Multi-Unit Concept. | $75K | Seed | May 24, 2021 |  |
| Science On Call | Science On Call provides around-the-clock, AI-empowered technical support for restaurants, acting as a smart help desk. Their service blends automation with real, restaurant-savvy technologists; it helps resolve everyday tech issues—like POS errors, internet outages, online ordering glitches, or menu updates—via a single, scalable subscription. | $75K | Pre-Seed | Jan 20, 2020 |  |

9 of 9 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Indico Capital Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/indico-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Btomorrow Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/btomorrow-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Icon Capital — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [maze impact](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/maze-b4a7) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Pente Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pente-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Redrice Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/redrice-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund
- [Everywhere Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/everywhere-ventures) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Food Foundry invest in?

Food Foundry invests primarily in Software, Food and Beverage and Restaurants startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 9 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Food Foundry?

Public channels for Food Foundry include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Food Foundry?

The team at Food Foundry includes Ashley Hartman (Mentor), Jason Starr (Mentor) and Laura Habegger (Head). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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