| Financing threshold: | €500,055.60 |
|---|---|
| Maximum issue size: | €3,500,105.40 |
| Invested so far: | €308,346.12 |
Addressing a structural gap in the one of the world’s largest markets
Huuva democratizes access to great food in suburbs and small cities by bringing the nation’s favourite fast casual restaurants closer to home - solving a major gap in one of the world’s largest industries: food.
Proven ability to grow and attract customers
Annualized revenue run rate of €9 million reached in under four years since launch. Serving over 200,000 customers in a total of seven cities across Finland.
Capital efficient expansion: payback times measured in months, not years.
Unit economics deliver 5–8 month payback per site - enabling rapid, repeatable rollouts.
Experienced and committed leadership and investors
Founders and management combine entrepreneurial, technical, and financial expertise, supported by top-tier investors such as General Catalyst, Lifeline Ventures and Ilkka Paananen.
“At Huuva, we are redefining how consumers in underserved areas access great food from leading restaurant brands. Our Foodhalls have demonstrated strong traction with rapid payback periods, and we now serve more than 200,000 customers in Finland. As we expand into new cities, the Community Round represents an opportunity to strengthen our community while supporting continued growth in Finland and future international markets.”
Ville Leppälä, CEO & Co-Founder
Huuva’s tech-enabled Foodhalls bring local hero restaurants under one roof. The company’s mission is to revolutionize suburban dining by bringing the most beloved restaurants to underserved areas.
The concept is simple yet powerful: each Huuva Foodhall hosts multiple fast-casual restaurant brands, offering variety for consumers and efficient expansion for partners. Customers are served through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery, with the option to combine multiple brands within a single order.
At the core is HuuvaOS, the operating system that keeps every kitchen running in perfect harmony. Managing timing, inventory, and orders, it allows chefs to focus entirely on cooking. With HuuvaOS, even a single chef can prepare dishes from multiple brands while maintaining consistency and customer satisfaction.
For restaurant brands, Huuva offers an effortless way to grow beyond their local neighborhood without financial risks or operational compromises. Through a network of tech-driven local Foodhalls, Huuva enables brands to launch and scale in new markets within weeks rather than years. By doing so, the company meets the surging demand for better food options while empowering restaurants to reach more customers, faster.
Huuva’s growth story is already validated by leading investors such as Lifeline Ventures (Wolt, Oura, Supercell) and General Catalyst (Airbnb, Snap). In just four years, Huuva has:
Its partner brand portfolio includes some of Finland’s most iconic food brands, such as Boneless (voted Helsinki’s best burger), Lie Mi (famous for Shanghai tacos), and the legendary Siipiweikot.
Huuva’s Foodhall is a multi-brand restaurant concept that enables customers to order from multiple food brands in a single transaction. The model serves customers across all channels: delivery, takeaway, and dine-in.
Introduced in 2024 to complement the original delivery-focused store format, the Foodhall concept has quickly become the Company’s primary growth driver. New Foodhalls are characterized by:
Each new Foodhall typically introduces 5–8 fast casual restaurant brands into underserved neighborhoods, creating local demand and attracting media attention. By combining multiple brands under one roof, Foodhalls can operate profitably in areas where conventional restaurant formats may not be viable, thereby fulfilling unmet consumer demand.
Huuva Foodhalls are vertically integrated, managing the full value chain from app integration and ingredient sourcing to cooking, delivery, and customer experience. The company’s proprietary operating system, HuuvaOS, automates all processes except the cooking itself. The software manages orders, guides chefs, monitors preparation times, handles inventory, coordinates supplier interactions, and runs localized marketing. This integration enables chefs to focus on food quality while the system ensures consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
Since launching in 2021, Huuva has collected more than 100,000 customer reviews, with an average rating of 8.8 out of 10, indicating a high level of customer satisfaction.
The chart below compares Huuva’s key operating metrics with selected publicly listed restaurant operators (Chipotle, Cava, Shake Shack; Sources: 2024 Annual Reports and Huuva Foodhall stores, August 2025). Huuva’s technology-enabled model allows its Foodhall stores to operate with greater efficiency than conventional restaurant formats, supported by smaller real estate footprints and significantly lower upfront investment costs per location.
Food and paper costs include the direct costs associated with food, beverage, and packaging of our menu items. The components of Food and packaging costs are variable by nature, changing with sales volume.
Labor and related expenses include store-level hourly and management wages, bonuses, and payroll taxes. Labor costs are variable, changing with sales volume.
Occupancy and related expenses consist of occupancy expenses, including rent and related expenses.
A core driver of scalability is the company’s asset-light model. New Foodhalls can be established with an upfront investment of an average of €60,000 per site, supporting rapid and capital-efficient rollout. The modular kitchen design provides flexibility to adapt brand selection with minimal switching costs, enabling the continuous evolution of offerings in response to consumer preferences.
The chart below illustrates cash flows from recent Huuva Foodhall openings, including all operating and investment costs associated with each site. Upfront costs are recorded in month 0. All locations reached positive cash flow by month 2. Foodhall 2 achieved payback in approximately 4.5 months, while Foodhalls 1 and 3 are on track to reach payback within 6–8 months. Conventional restaurant formats generally target a payback period of approximately two years.
Huuva is also piloting innovative delivery solutions. In addition to Foodhalls, the company is experimenting with autonomous sidewalk robots and testing drone deliveries in Espoo. These initiatives are designed to enhance the consumer experience through lower-cost and faster delivery, while improving unit economics and strengthening the company’s direct sales channel.
Looking ahead, Huuva intends to scale the Foodhall model nationwide and further develop its robotic delivery network as part of its strategy to drive growth and operational efficiency.
Huuva generates revenue by owning and operating its Foodhalls, capturing sales both through its proprietary digital channel and through third-party delivery platforms. Revenue streams are diversified between:
Huuva operates its Foodhalls independently, while licensing brands and recipes from nationally recognized food concepts. This approach enables the company to offer customers relevant and trend-driven dining options without incurring the heavy costs of recipe development and brand building in a market characterized by rapidly shifting consumer preferences.
The Foodhall concept is designed for scalability by combining location flexibility, rapid ramp-up, and the ability to maintain novelty. A digital-first operating model and small physical footprint allow locations to be established beyond traditional prime sites, including suburban and secondary city areas. Established third-party brands and proprietary operating software support faster store openings and repeatable operations. Brand rotation, supported by customer data and insights, helps Foodhalls remain aligned with consumer trends and sustain long-term relevance.
Unlike conventional restaurant operators that depend on prime, high-traffic locations and heavy brand investment, Huuva’s technology-enabled and brand-flexible model is designed to provide greater adaptability, capital efficiency, and resilience to consumer taste shifts.
The European food and beverage market is undergoing a shift as consumers increasingly order meals for delivery or pick-up. According to Statista (2025), the food delivery market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.89% between 2025 and 2030. Demand for restaurant-quality meals is rising outside of major cities; however, many suburban and mid-sized regions remain underserved, with limited options beyond fast food chains or small local operators. This dynamic presents an opportunity for scalable solutions.
Competitors include fast-food chains and virtual restaurants. Fast-food chains are present in many areas but lack the variety that consumers are increasingly demanding. A virtual restaurant is a type of food service business where virtual brands are licensed to traditional restaurants, with the meals prepared alongside the existing menu and sold exclusively through delivery platforms. This model offers lower startup and operational costs, since it leverages existing kitchens, staff, and infrastructure. However, it often faces challenges such as weak brand identity and customer dissatisfaction, as quality can suffer when scaling across multiple license holders with varying standards.
Huuva positions itself between these models. It operates its own kitchens, works with nationally recognised food brands, and exploits proprietary technology (HuuvaOS) to manage operations. This combination allows Huuva to expand efficiently, achieve fast payback at a site level, and build a defensible market position in a €5+ billion addressable market.
CEO, Co-Founder, Board Member
Ville Leppälä is the CEO and Co-Founder of Huuva. Prior to founding the company, he held leadership and technical roles at Varjo Technologies, where he began as a Mechatronics Engineer and later scaled a newly established business vertical to represent approximately one-third of the company's sales. During his studies, he served as CEO of Junction, which he helped develop into the world’s largest hackathon event. He holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering from Aalto University.
Director of Operations
Markus Kauppinen has over 20 years of experience in professional kitchens, ranging from various chef positions at two- and three-star Michelin restaurants to the launch of twelve fast casual restaurants during his career. He currently serves as Director of Operations at Huuva.
Head of Marketing
Mathias Soini is Head of Marketing at Huuva, responsible for driving growth, brand development, and customer acquisition. He has a strong background in scaling B2C growth companies, including launching and expanding VOI in Finland - a well-known European mobility unicorn. Today, he brings that scaling expertise into food-tech, building Huuva’s journey toward becoming Europe’s leading restaurant platform. Mathias holds a B.Sc. in Marketing Management from Jönköping International Business School.
Huuva Oy is directly owned by its shareholders and does not have a group structure.
Huuva achieved month-level EBITDA profitability in August 2025, which provides a platform for future growth. The company intends to allocate the majority of raised funds toward the opening of new Foodhalls and the further development of its direct ordering channel.
Over the medium term, Huuva aims to reach revenues in the range of €25 million to €30 million and to assess the scalability of its concept in an additional market. The business model has been validated in Finland through multiple successful openings in large-city suburbs and mid-sized cities. Accordingly, the Company expects that most new locations will be established in Finland. Management also believes that demonstrating the model in a second country represents a strategically important milestone on the path toward broader European expansion.
(€500,055.60 collected in the financing round)
(up to €2,000,222.40 collected in the financing round)
(up to €3,500,105.40 collected in the financing round)
Huuva is evaluating an expansion into Denmark as part of its strategy to test the scalability of its concept outside of Finland. The Danish market shares several characteristics with Finland, including high delivery penetration, established delivery partners, and a strong base of quality restaurants. Average order values in Denmark are higher than in Finland, representing a favorable market dynamic.
The Company has engaged in preliminary discussions with delivery partners regarding a potential expansion into Denmark. A successful entry into Denmark is expected to represent a strategically important step that could increase visibility among larger international investors and support longer-term ambitions of European expansion.
While significant market opportunities have been identified in Finland, where Huuva intends to continue pursuing growth to increase revenue and contribution margin, the primary purpose of the Danish expansion would be to demonstrate the ability to operate successfully in an additional market. Establishing such a proof point may enhance the Company’s attractiveness to international investors. Over time, expansion into Denmark could provide a foundation for broader growth across Europe.
Huuva’s current non-diluted valuation is based on a multiple of 4.3 times the monthly revenue run rate, using an annualized revenue of €9 million as the reference point. This results in a valuation of €38.6 million. The valuation is considered competitive in light of the company’s proven traction, rapid payback periods, and strong growth projections. Expansion is built on a replicable and already validated concept, with clear plans to scale Foodhalls and delivery innovations across new markets. This positions Huuva to deliver sustainable growth while maintaining an attractive entry level for new investors.
Huuva's next growth target is to reach €25-30 million in annual revenue and to expand the business into another market. Once the two above have been secured, Huuva has identified that the next logical step could be to raise funding to speed up expansion throughout Europe. This is intended to position Huuva in a way that could attract international growth equity investors and make it possible to accelerate growth further.
Huuva aims to utilise grants and debt funding to support the growth as extensively as possible, together with growth equity funding.
Huuva has raised a total of €10,594,370 in funding to date. Out of this funding €550,000 is grants and €1,583,455 is debt with preferencial terms. The equity instrument raises have been led by LifeLine Ventures and General Catalyst.
Investor |
Type of funding |
Year |
Amount |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LifeLine Ventures, Illusian, & others | Pre-seed SAFE | 2021 | €1,050,000 |
| 2 | LifeLine Ventures, General Catalyst, Illusian, & others | Seed | 2022 | €4,877,915 |
| 3 | Business Finland TEMPO | Grant | 2022 | €50,000 |
| 4 | Business Finland R&D loan | Loan | 2022 | €650,455 |
| 5 | LifeLine Ventures, General Catalyst, & Illusian | Convertible Note | 2023 | €1,600,000 |
| 6 | Business Finland NIY I | Grant | 2023 | €250,000 |
| 7 | LifeLine Ventures, Illusian, & others | Seed | 2024 | €933,000 |
| 8 | Business Finland NIY II | Grant | 2024 | €250,000 |
| 9 | Finnvera | Loan | 2024 | €933,000 |
IPO: The company has identified an initial public offering (“IPO”) as its preferred long-term exit route. As an intermediate objective, Huuva is targeting revenues of approximately €25-30 million and the validation of its business model in an additional market. Achieving these milestones is expected to enhance the company’s ability to attract international growth-oriented investors. The participation of such investors could also provide a potential liquidity event for minority shareholders.
Acquisition/merger: Another viable exit route could be acquisition by- or merger with a competitor who is active in another market or acquisition by a private equity company merging such companies.
Strategic acquisition: Additional exit routes include strategic acquisition by e.g. food delivery companies such as Uber Eats or Delivery Hero.
This section will be regularly updated with new, project-relevant information as the financing progresses. To be informed about new updates in a timely manner, subscribe to our newsletter.
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