Friska Founders launch Zedible
Following the Covid related closure of their sustainably minded restaurant chain Friska, hospitality founders Ed Brown and Griff Holland have announced the launch of Zedible, a climate tech SaaS platform, specifically designed to help operators within the hospitality, catering and food manufacturing sectors navigate their way towards a low carbon future.
Zedible addresses the environmental elephant in the room for the sector, namely that 90% of carbon emissions originate from the ingredients it serves, known as scope three emissions. The platform provides relevant carbon insights by analysing purchasing data at an ingredient level, thereby spotlighting the unique carbon drivers for each business.
Ed reflects on how the seed for Zedible was planted “back in 2021 we read about how the sector wanted to be part of the climate solution, we saw more and more businesses and operators back ambitious carbon reduction and Net Zero targets, but as operators, we could see that no one had the relevant map and compass needed for the journey!
“The more we looked into it, the more we understood that for our sector and it’s supply chain to play a positive part in the transition to a low carbon world, operators would need to understand what was driving their carbon footprint at an ingredient level, because quite simply, the carbon is ON the plate”
Ed finishes by saying “all to often operators are shooting in the dark when it comes to ESG and carbon reduction, Zedible highlights what really matters to each business and then allows operators to see the relationship between action and impact in terms of carbon output and intensity and commercial bottom line”
In the 2023 Deloitte CxO sustainability report of top level executives, 97% said they expected climate change to impact company strategy and operations. Increasingly carbon and commercials are being viewed within the same lens; Private equity is placing ever greater value on the impact of effective ESG strategy on portfolio valuations; corporates are able to access lower interest rates via ESG linked lending and there is clear evidence of revenue opportunity for consumer brands that authentically and effectively engage with the climate challenge.
Griff said “As operators ourselves, we can see that whilst our industry wants to play a key role in the climate challenge, it's very easy to feel ‘lost at sea’ when it comes to driving change. As such, decision making needs to be informed, commercially aware and based on quantitative carbon insights. What we’ve done with Zedible is really resonating with the industry, whether it’s a CFO’s who needs to report on their companies ESG impact, a marketing managers who wants to authentically appeal to climate conscious Gen Z’ers, sustainability leaders who want to move the dial when it comes to carbon and of course fellow founders and CEOs who want to continue to drive growth in a more sustainable way. It’s with this operators mindset that we built Zedible, the map and compass to help our sector achieve its carbon reduction goals”