Chefs Plate, which delivers gourmet ready-to-cook meal deliveries, today announced $6 million in new funding led by Munich-based Acton Capital Partners. Existing investors, Emil Capital and BrandProject, also participated in the round.
“With this new capital, the focus will be on supporting our rapid growth, including hiring top talent across all divisions,” said Jamie Shea, co-founder of Chefs Plate. “Our mission is to create meaningful connections through food. These funds allow us to offer more Canadians well-priced meal-kits with farm-to-table ingredients that are often fresher and less costly than the grocery aisle.”
The funding will be used to fund recruitment and market expansion across Canada, including a new fulfillment centre in Western Canada. Chefs Plate also wants to expand its direct relationships with its supply chain of Canadian growers and farmers, as the company uses locally sourced ingredients for its mealkits.
“Chefs Plate is changing the way Canadians eat,” said Vancouver-based Acton venture partner, Hannes Blum. “In just under two years Chefs Plate has grown to be the leader in the meal-kit delivery category in Canada. The company’s unique model makes it very well-positioned to grow quickly while preserving its value propositions of freshness, quality and convenience at a highly competitive price.”
In October, Chefs Plate raised $2 million in seed funding, which it also wanted to use for national expansion. In June 2016, the company announced delivery of 100,000 meal-kits monthly, a new family plan, and extension of delivery outside of Ontario to B.C., Alberta, and Manitoba.