• SIRPLUS beats SafeNow in a gripping final and receives video advertising worth EUR 3 million and a budget for its own TV spot

• Co-founder and CEO Raphael Fellmer's start-up rescues perfectly edible, surplus or expired foodstuffs and distributes them further

• In the semi-final, SIRPLUS wins against VYTAL, SafeNow is preferred to KoRo

• Prominent jury consisting of flaconi CFO Kathrin Nusser, SevenVentures CCO Florian Weber and investor and star presenter Joko Winterscheidt with unanimous decision

Unterföhring, July 6, 2021. The winning company of the SevenVentures Pitch Day 2021 has been determined: With the Berlin-based start-up SIRPLUS, a finalist convinced the jury that has dedicated itself to the major social problem of destroying surplus or expired food. The company saves perfectly edible food from the bin by offering it to environmentally conscious buyers at a discounted price. In addition to the sustainable business model, the personality of the co-founder of SIRPLUS was particularly impressive: Raphael Fellmer wants to use the lucrative profit, consisting of video advertising worth EUR 3 million and a budget for his own TV commercial, to reach the break-even point of the company and for the continuous development of the brand.

Raphael Fellmer, Co-Founder and CEO SIRPLUS: "I am incredibly grateful that we were able to prevail despite very strong finalists who also have such great approaches for a grandchild-friendly world. This is a great opportunity for more food appreciation and less waste in Germany. We would like to thank the jury and the whole team of SevenVentures and are really looking forward to working with them."

Florian Weber, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Commercial Officer SevenVentures: "I am very happy for SIRPLUS, which addresses an extremely relevant social issue with a sustainable approach and at the same time has an attractive, promising business model. Our budget will help Raphael and his ambitious team to raise awareness of the brand and increase SIRPLUS' sales in the long term. But I would also like to emphasise that all finalists this year can be proud of their achievements. With this year's edition, SevenVentures Pitch Day once again underlines its importance in the start-up industry."

Four ambitious young companies had presented their respective business models in the final of this year's tenth edition of the SevenVentures Pitch Day - presenting the jury consisting of flaconi CFO Kathrin Nusser, SevenVentures CCO Florian Weber and investor and star presenter Joko Winterscheidt with a difficult choice. In the end, SIRPLUS won the first duel against VYTAL, which operates Europe's largest digital, deposit-free reusable system for takeaway and delivery meals. Tim Breker, one of the founders of VYTAL, presented the company in the Galileo studio, where presenter Steven Gätjen guided through the show.

In the second semi-final, founder Tilman Rumland held his own with his app SafeNow, which offers safety in threatening situations. The product automatically identifies, displays and alerts helpers in the vicinity to provide quick and targeted assistance. He was particularly impressed by his personal story, a tragic assault in his own environment. This spurred him on to further develop the app for the protection of people in dangerous situations. SafeNow was given preference over the D2C brand KoRo, which is rethinking retail by focusing on short, trade routes, efficient process flows and bulk packaging, and making high-quality food available at fair prices. Piran Asci presented on behalf of the founding team. In the final, the jury members then voted unanimously in favour of SIRPLUS.

The event was organised by SevenVentures, the investment arm of ProSiebenSat.1 and the world's leading TV media investor, which has already provided more than EUR 30 million in media funding for start-ups in the ten-year history of the event.

The SevenVentures Pitch Day took place for the first time in virtual form in cooperation with the 4GAMECHANGERS festival of the Austrian ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 Group. For all those who missed the event, PULS 24 will show the final again on Friday, July 9 at 7pm.