NEW YORK — Popchew, a startup creating the next generation of fun food brands and experiences, has raised $3.6 million in seed funding to launch a new digitally native food brand each month with creators. Long Journey Ventures led the round with participation from Jake Paul’s Anti Fund, Flybridge, WndrCo, the Uber Alumni Syndicate, and a roster of strategic angel investors including Rus Yusupov of HQ Trivia and Vine, Steven Galanis of Cameo, Rich Antionello of Complex Media, Scott Belsky, Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano, Matteo Franceschetti, and others.
“The current landscape of food delivery is boring! While there has been innovation in convenience for consumers, the space has no soul. It shouldn’t be that way,” said Lee Jacobs, General Partner at Long Journey Ventures. “Food is full of emotion and Popchew is creating deeper connections between creative people and their fans around such an important category.”
With the goal of becoming the coolest food court on the internet, Popchew operates the rails for creators to build, launch, and grow brands nationally in just weeks, allowing them to unlock the $40 billion food delivery market, expand their personal brand, connect with their fans, and create a new revenue stream. Powered by its national network of independent restaurants, Popchew makes delivery possible via third party apps and its website.
In the company’s first six months, Popchew debuted two brands – Bitcoin Pizza with Crypto Investor Pomp and Wing SZN in partnership with YouTuber Zias. Through these brands, Popchew has processed tens of thousands of orders, putting the company on target to generate several million dollars in revenue by the end of the year. Building on this momentum, Popchew plans to launch new brands every month with a growing roster of creators.
“Gen Z is the most connected generation in the history of the world and thrives off of social experiences, and yet food delivery today is transactional, boring, and lonely,” said Nick Sopchak, Co-Founder and COO of Popchew. Co-Founder and CEO Rushir Parikh added, “We’re making food delivery fun like it should be! We’re combining highly engaging brands built by our favorite creators with digital experiences like prizes, drops, and gifting, to create a delivery brand customers love.”
To help creators establish a new revenue stream, Popchew taps into restaurants’ unused capacity and helps them create a new revenue stream and optimize it. With more than 600,000 restaurants in the U.S., Popchew’s brands have the opportunity to continue to expand its reach without changing restaurants’ existing operation.
“Food is a new vertical for creators and it’s important to both partner and invest in a team that understands the audience and technology to deliver a great experience,” said Paul, an investor through Anti Fund. “Popchew is a scalable solution that will unlock new possibilities for creators to engage with their fans everywhere.”
