Anton Soulier is the co-founder of Taster, a collection of food brands made for delivery.
Education
Anton Soulier attended Lycée Bessières in 2006, the University of Gdansk in 2009, and earned a Master’s degree in finance from NEOMA Business School in 2010.
Early career
Soulier worked as a Junior Credit Analyst at Cheuvreux in 2007. Soulier was responsible for the management of clearing channels and treasury, and prevention of faulty customers – short positions management. In 2008, Soulier became Junior Analyst at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking, where he worked for long-term loan structuration (PRI, Swap and CDS’), profitability studies on infrastructure projects, and preparation of client pitches (Corporate and Sovereign) in Africa and Middle East Project Financing.
In 2010, Soulier worked as Junior Analyst at Hermès. Soulier was responsible for the consolidation of profit and loss statements and European business plans, preparation of budgets and three years sales forecasts for the European subsidiaries, support the subsidiaries with their orders and inventories, and monitoring of European subsidiaries before, during and after the Autumn / Winter 2010 and Spring / Summer 2011 Podium.
Soulier also worked as Senior Associate for Transaction Services at KPMG Advisory. Soulier’s important roles include buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence for private equity and corporate clients in the following sectors: telecom, industrial products, food industry, and health. Soulier also analyzed historical financial statements (balance sheet, profit, and loss, cash flow statement) and business plan, identify key performance indicators, calculate normative working capital, determine adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net financial debt, analyze carve-out financial statements. Close work with CEO/CFO/international management teams, litigation and arbitration support, and interventions in Africa, Asia, and the United States.
Soulier founded Nuée desserts in June 2013. Soulier launched and developed a London based organic fruit dessert brand. Soulier managed the development of the brand from the ground up (social, PR, partnerships), interact with groceries, local supermarkets and coffee shops in London, negotiated of commercial terms with suppliers, buyers, and distributors, and set up the operations and logistic routes from supplier to final consumers.
In 2014, Soulier worked at Deliveroo in various roles. Soulier first worked as Business Development until 2015 and became Business Operations Manager for six months. In August of the same year, Soulier got promoted as Regional Manager for over one year before he became the Deputy General Manager until 2017.
Taster
In July 2017, Soulier founded Taster (formerly known as Mission Food), a progressive and entrepreneurial takeaway, and delivery-only food brand. Taster develops delivery-only restaurant concepts from local kitchens that are designed for home delivery in less than 20 minutes. Taster takes takeaway food up a notch by engaging with local communities focusing on quality and taste.
The foundations were created of an idea that’s thriving – a premium experience, sustainable all round, and most importantly, delicious restaurant quality delivery-only food that travels well.
The company is producing native brands for Deliveroo, Glovo, or UberEats in Europe. Taster has already launched three various brands — Mission Saigon (Vietnamese cuisine), O Ke Kai (Pacific Poke Bowls and Sushi), and Out-Fry (Korean Fried Chicken). These restaurants are kitchens for food delivery.
The startup has delivered 400,000 meals in Madrid, Paris, and London. Taster now strives to predict trends to order just the right amount of food for a specific day. The company has already employed 115 full-time employees working for the company, including 100 people in the kitchens.
Funding rounds
In September 2017, Taster raised $1 million in pre-seed funding, led by LocalGlobe with the participation from Marc Ménasé and Kima Ventures. In June 2018, Taster raised $4.1 million in a seed round from LocalGlobe, Heartcore Capital, and Global Founders Capital. In June 2019, Taster raised $8 million in a Series A round, led by Battery Ventures with the participation from existing investors include Marc Ménasé, LocalGlobe, Heartcore Capital, and Global Founders Capital.
With the latest funding round, the company plans to launch three new brands and open more kitchens. To scale more rapidly, the company doesn’t handle real estate itself, Taster now relies on third-party companies, such as Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens.
Taster has raised a total of $13.1 million in funding over three rounds and is funded by six investors. Taster competes with City Pantry, Deliveroo, and Delivery Hero.