Food waste prevention app Bonapp, which is active in Romania, and Hungarian-born Munch, which is also present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, announced they are merging to consolidate and expand their activity in preventing food waste.

Together, the two scale-ups plan to expand to Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, and Slovenia.

The new entity totals close to 100 employees, and generated combined revenues of EUR 7.5 million in 2024.

The merger resulted in a unified platform with a total of 6,000 partner locations, including brands such as Penny, Starbucks, OMV, SPAR, Fornetti, and Auchan, and over 3.5 million app downloads.

Munch and Bonapp share the mission of connecting consumers with HoReCa and retailers offering surplus food at significant discounts. Restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and hotels use Bonapp and Munch to market unsold, quality food at reduced prices.

"Romania is one of the largest and most dynamic markets in Central and Eastern Europe, making it a strategic priority for us. Bonapp has built a strong brand, collaborating with partners such as Penny and Starbucks. In addition, the extensive network of the Bonapp team in the region opens up extraordinary opportunities for our expansion in Europe. We are excited to join forces and grow this business together," Kirill Perepelica, co-founder of Munch, said.

"Munch and Bonapp share very similar cultures. By combining Bonapp's deep local expertise with Munch's proven success in the region, we create the ideal foundation for accelerated growth. This partnership demonstrates that in the world of growing companies, the whole can truly be greater than the sum of its parts," Luka Zivkovic, co-founder of Bonapp, added.

"Munch and Bonapp share a commitment to pursuing profits with purpose, growth with impact, and prosperity with sustainability. Together, we are providing households with affordable food in the face of rising inflation, helping retailers reduce waste, and contributing to a healthier planet. Now more than ever, our solution delivers a triple win - a win for consumers, a win for retailers, and a win for the environment," Grégoire Vigroux, co-founder of Bonapp, said.

Bonapp was launched in November 2021 by Grégoire Vigroux, Diego Roy de Lachaise, and Luka Zivkovic. It previously raised funding from Roca X, Early Game Ventures, Impact Ventures, and business angels, among others. Early Game Ventures will remain a shareholder in the new entity, it said.

Munch was founded in 2020 by entrepreneurs Botond Zsoldos, Bence Zwecker, Albert Wettstein, and Kirill Perepelica, and has since expanded in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2022, it expanded to Slovakia and merged with the Czech app Nesnězeno, founded by Jakub Henni. It entered the Romanian market in 2024. In December 2023, the company announced a Series A investment round led by Piton Capital, with participation from FJ Labs and Christopher Muhr, the co-founder of Groupon.

(Photo: left to right: Grégoire Vigroux, Kirill Perepelica, and Luka Zivkovic)

simona@romania-insider.com