After announcing a $6 million Series B in September, Toronto-based Chefs Plate announced that it’s closed the second tranche of its Series B thanks to its commitment on food sustainability; the tranche was closed by InvestEco Capital’s Sustainable Food Fund II, which focuses on companies that support food waste reduction and sustainability.
“Changing the food supply chain is a major hurdle to helping reduce the annual $31 billon food waste problem in Canada,” said Charles Holt, vice president of InvestEco Capital. “Chefs Plate is committed to building a better food system that puts Canadian suppliers and growers first. This helps eliminate wasteful steps in the food chain which is why they were the right investment for us.”
Jamie Shea, co-founder of Chefs Plate, said that the company invests heavily in its tech infrastructure to disrupt the food retail and supply chain in Canada. “By investing in our own platforms and systems, we work directly with artisan farmers and purveyors from across the country. There are no middle men,” said Shea. “Our model allows us to deliver farm-to-table food three times faster than the traditional grocery channel. This eliminates the waste that occurs from perishable foods sitting on selves in grocery stores and warehouses across the country.”
Chefs Plate delivers gourmet read-to-cook meals, and the company says that it’s supporting food waste production through its farm-to-table approach. It prioritizes the purchase of Canadian-grown and farmed produce, meats, and seafood, and its portioned kits mean that consumers aren’t wasting any ingredients.
“We have a subscription-based model that allows us to scale the consumer side quickly as well as predict demand,” said Shea. “Our ability to predict demand means our Canadian suppliers can plan and grow crops specifically for our customer base thus dramatically reducing wasteful over-production.”
The company donates surplus fresh food to Second Harvest, a not-for-profit that picks up food which would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to community agencies. The company is a partner of Ocean Wise, which promotes sustainable fishing practices.
InvestEco joins existing investors, Acton Capital Partners, Emil Capital and BrandProject in the Series B round.