Streamlinefeed

Former investment bankers Hasan and Omair Sarwar have raised $1.5 million (approximately KES 195 million) in an oversubscribed seed round to scale Peekabox, a Dubai-based food-tech platform tackling commercial food waste across the UAE. The capital will be used to deepen market penetration in the UAE ahead of planned expansion into Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Peekabox already counts more than 1,000 store locations and leading retailers among its partners.

"We raised $1.5 million," Hasan Sarwar said, underscoring the founders' shift from finance to building a technology-first approach to surplus food redistribution.

Business model and traction

Peekabox operates a mobile marketplace that allows restaurants, bakeries and grocery chains to sell surplus prepared food at steep discounts rather than discard it. The app has surpassed 100,000 downloads and offers consumers "surprise boxes" of fresh surplus food at guaranteed discounts of 50 to 70 percent off retail prices. Consumers reserve packages through the application and collect them during designated windows, with the platform avoiding logistical custody of goods.

The startup has secured participation from major regional and global brands, building network density through partnerships with Carrefour, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, Paul and Union Coop. Securing franchise operators such as Majid Al Futtaim, Apparel Group and Americana was cited as a strategic win that delivers high-volume, consistent supply and meaningful economies of scale for the marketplace.

Market context and impact

The problem Peekabox addresses is substantial: in the UAE, roughly 38 percent of all commercially prepared food is discarded, representing an estimated $3.5 billion in annual losses. The Sarwar brothers identified a logistical gap in how businesses handle end-of-day perishable inventory—high-quality food that cannot be sold at full price but can be monetized at deep discounts.

• Capital raised: $1.5 million (KES 195 million) in an oversubscribed seed round.
• Network scale: Active partnerships with over 1,000 store locations across the UAE.
• Consumer uptake: App downloads exceed 100,000.
• Pricing: Surplus packages discounted 50–70%.
• Market waste metric: UAE discards about 38% of prepared food, worth $3.5 billion annually.

The model is presented as both an ESG tool for corporate partners and a consumer-facing cost-saving mechanism in an era of rising living costs. For large franchise operators, the platform serves as a way to recover sunk costs and improve environmental, social and governance metrics. For urban consumers, the discounted packages offer immediate financial relief.

Outlook

With the new funding, Peekabox plans to consolidate its UAE position before rolling out more broadly across the GCC, starting with Saudi Arabia. The seed round’s oversubscription signals investor appetite for climate-aligned commercial solutions that combine cost recovery, consumer savings and measurable environmental impact. If Peekabox can sustain supply consistency from its major retail partners while scaling user adoption, the platform will be a closely watched test case for whether digital marketplaces can materially reduce commercial food waste at scale.