Food waste startup, Motatos, bulks up its senior team ahead of UK launch

Motatos hires House of Fraser executive Christabel Biella to take its sustainable food delivery offering to British consumers

Swedish-born grocery retailer, Motatos, has hired Christabel Biella as UK Country Manager as it sets its sights on a launch next month. 

Biella brings a decade of UK retail experience to the table, with previous roles including merchandising and purchasing roles at House Of Fraser, luxury furniture brand Swoon, and high street fashion chain TK Maxx.

As Country Manager, Biella will be responsible for building the brand and initiating partnerships with retailers and distributors to secure food that would otherwise be discarded before they ever reach customers. 

As well as hiring Biella, Motatos has also established partnerships with new distributors including Wholegood and Pricecheck. Both moves signal a clear statement of intent about its ambition for the UK launch in June. 

The UK produces an average of 9.5 million tonnes of food waste each year(*). The Government has committed to halving the UK’s per capita food waste by 2030, however participation in the programme is voluntary for grocery businesses. 

Motatos allows consumers to buy well-known products that would otherwise risk ending up in landfill due to changes in packaging, seasonal changes or short best before dates. The team does this through establishing partnerships with distributors and then passing products onto customers at discounted rates - making Motatos a sustainable and cost-effective way to buy your weekly shop. 

Commenting on her appointment, Biella said: “UK shoppers are incredibly passionate about sustainability but they need easy and cost-effective ways to make sustainable choices that often come with a hefty price tag. That is why I’m so excited to join Motatos; especially at this point in its development following incredible success in other European markets. I’m looking forward to working with the wider team to deliver ethical, sustainable products to UK customers and reduce the carbon emissions created by food waste in the UK’s supply chain.”   

Hanna Thofelt Lindström, Head of Communications at Motatos added: “We knew that the UK would welcome a fresh take on reducing food waste but we needed someone with industry experience and a desire to grow a business with big ambitions. Christabel has already served up some great ideas to help us launch and grow the business in the local market and her passion for our mission made it clear that she was a fellow food waste warrior! We can't wait to see what we can do together.”

Motatos will be going live during June. For more information and to sign-up to its waitlist, pop over to the website. 

Sources: 

*Food waste statistics: https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/food-waste-in-the-uk/#:~:text=As%20part%20of%20the%20United,a%2015%25%20reduction%20from%202007

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