Singapore-based venture capital firm VisVires New Protein has made its third investment out of its second fund, co-leading a $16.5-million Series A round in British startup Collectiv Food.

VisVires New Protein co-led the round with Swedish investor VNV Global, while others joining the round include Octopus Ventures, Norrsken VC, and existing investor Partech.

Collectiv Food is a British food supply chain startup that aims to improve the wholesalers model with automation, and by removing intermediaries and reducing delivery emissions. Its customers include restaurant groups such as The Hush Collection and Big Mamma Group and grocery stores.

The startup claims that through its technology-driven system, it is able to deliver fresher ingredients and offer up to 25% in cost savings.

Aside from the UK, Collective Food has also expanded into neighbouring France. The additional fundraising will be used to accelerate sales and marketing efforts across Europe, and in research and development, the firm said in a press release.

“We’re being pushed by a combination of strong tailwinds: end-consumers demanding a better understanding of provenance; cities implementing air pollution regulations that limit large freight; a post-Covid hospitality industry desperate to improve margins but with limited staff available to facilitate this in-house,” said Collectiv Food’s founder Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi.

“Combined with our innovative model, we’re able to set our sights on not only becoming a European leader in food distribution over the next few years but even a global one.”

Hibbert-Garibaldi told DealStreetAsia that the company will focus on Europe for the next three years, but there is a possibility of expanding into Asia – particularly in urban areas – after that.

This is VisVires New Protein’s first investment into food distribution, the VC’s managing partner Matthieu Vermersch said in a statement. “The next few years will see far-reaching disruptions in this industry similar to what is already happening with B2C food distribution.”

The other two investments from VisVires New Protein’s second fund, which is targeted to raise $150 million, are Mushlabs – a biotech firm that uses fermentation tech to create alternative proteins – and food safety tech maker Swiss DeCode. The VC also recently announced that it participated in Israeli cultivated meat maker Aleph Farms’ $105-million Series B round earlier in July.