Traded as Approved Food Limited Founder Dan Cluderay Headquarters Sheffield | Industry Internet retail, food Founded 2008 | |
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Area Served South East England, Midlands, North West England, Yorkshire, South West England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, North East England, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Monaco, Belgium, Luxenburg, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Slovakia and Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania Key People Dan Cluderay, founder. Andy Needham, Director. Services Groceries, consumer goods Type of business Private Limited with Share Capital | ||
Dan cluderay on his business approved food loose women
Approved Food is an online discount food retailer based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. The company retails products that are near or past their best before date, as well as some fresh produce, including vegetables. It is the UK's largest online retailer for short dated and residual stock. Approved Food takes an active role in educating people about the difference between sell-by-dates, display until dates, use-by dates and best-before-dates.
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History
Approved Food was established in 2009 by former Sony Ericsson engineer Dan Cluderay who created the online retailer after a number of years selling food on market stalls.
The company was incorporated in September 2009. In September 2014 the business moved to its current 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) warehouse based near the Sheffield Parkway where it employs more than 50 members of staff.
In 2015 Approved Food appeared on the BBC’s Dragons' Den, where Dan Cluderay and his business partner Andy Needham pitched to the dragons for a £150,000 investment in return for with a 10% stake in the company. The offer was rejected by all Dragons; Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Kelly Hoppen, Deborah Meaden and Piers Linney.
In 2015 Approved Food were shortlisted in Virgin Media’s Pitch to Rich taking part in the competition’s Grow category in a bid to win a share of the £400k prize fund. The competition saw the company campaign for public votes, before delivering a pitch to a panel of judges including Richard Branson. The finale of the Pitch to Rich competition took place on June 26, 2015, and Approved Food were runners up winning a £100k marketing campaign from Virgin Media.
Since incorporation in 2009 the business has secured funding in excess of £400k from external sources in and around the Yorkshire region. In March 2015 Approved Food also featured on ITV’s Bargain Fever Britain fly on the wall documentary about value retailers in the UK. Approved Food were featured alongside Costco, Motorpoint & Shoezone.
Operations
Approved Food retails solely online; operating from a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) fulfilment centre in Sheffield. The company’s software systems have been fully written and developed in house and are a key factor in enabling the business to scale up rapidly.
Approved Food sources products directly from food manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, and on average saves its customers over 70% off the recommended retail prices often accommodating stock that would have been otherwise disposed of and potentially ended up as food waste In addition to the Approved Food business, in 2015 Approved Food Limited launched its Great British Sweets website, as well as its Naturally Free website.