Silvio Pfeufer, head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Matthias in Berlin, uses Saltz to streamline food procurement. The AI-assisted platform employs agentic AI to modernise the typically disorganised process between food buyers and sellers, which involves managing phone calls, emails, texts and PDFs from multiple suppliers with constantly fluctuating prices. Saltz's AI agents ingest communications from food sellers, standardise the data and consolidate it into a single marketplace. This allows restaurants to compare products and prices in real time, order outside business hours and connect directly with suppliers, reducing supply chain length and improving ingredient freshness. Founded in 2022 by the Šlimas brothers and Reinis Štrodahs, Saltz serves thousands of buyers, with 80-90% being independent restaurants. The platform helps these establishments access high-quality suppliers whilst reducing administrative costs.

Lithuanian FoodTech Saltz raises €20M Series A to expand its marketplace. Vilnius-based food supply marketplace Saltz raises €20M in Series A funding from EBRD, Inovo, Lifeline Ventures, and Change Ventures to expand across Europe and transform food distribution. Founders: Andrius Šlimas, Tomas Šlimas, Reinis Štrodahs Founding year: 2002 Industry: FoodTech Problem: The food distribution sector remains highly fragmented and largely offline. Restaurants often rely on multiple distributors, deal with hidden pricing, and use manual ordering processes. Suppliers also struggle to reach customers efficiently or provide additional services such as payment terms and logistics. Solution: Saltz is a digital marketplace that connects professional kitchens directly with verified food suppliers. The platform consolidates supplier catalogues, ordering, payments, and logistics into a single interface, simplifying and modernising food distribution. Stage: Series A Investment amount: €20 million Funded by: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inovo, Lifeline Ventures, Change Ventures, with participation from Mantas Mikuckas (Vinted founder), Miki Kuusi (Wolt founder), several Shopify executives, and other strategic angel investors. It will be spent on: Expanding across Europe, investing in cross-border food trade technology, improving platform experience for chefs and suppliers, and growing the team by more than 100 employees by the end of 2026. In their own words: "Restaurants and suppliers still rely heavily on intermediaries, wasting time and inflating margins. Saltz is building a transparent, simple marketplace that connects chefs directly with suppliers across Europe and beyond," shared Saltz co-founder Andrius Slimas. Their specialty: Building global B2B marketplaces. The founding team previously built marketplaces at Oberlo and Shopify. Business model: A digital B2B marketplace that facilitates direct transactions between professional kitchens and suppliers, likely generating revenue through platform fees and transaction-based services. Market: Food distribution and restaurant supply chains across Europe, with ambitions for global expansion. Traction: Saltz currently operates in 20 countries and provides chefs access to fresh and frozen meat and seafood suppliers through its platform. Updated: 9 March 2026 Help us grow the emerging innovation hubs in central and eastern Europe. Every single contribution of yours helps us guarantee our independence and sustainable future. With your financial support, we can keep on providing constructive reporting on the developments in the region, give even more global visibility to our ecosystem, and educate the next generation of innovation journalists and content creators. Find out more about how your donation could help us shape the story of the CEE entrepreneurial ecosystem! One-time donation You can also support The Recursive's mission with a pick-any-amount, one-time donation. Lenka is a curious observer of technology, culture, and shifting human narratives. With a background in linguistics and media, she tries to blend analytical insight with a lyrical voice. Writes about tech and investing with a clear eye for disruption - especially in rapidly evolving digital ecosystems.