UK Meal-Kit Subscription Service Gousto Grabs $150M in Funding

Gousto, a London-based meal-kit subscription service, has secured 110 million pounds ($150 million) in funding with a valuation of 1.25 billion pounds ($1.7 billion), UKTech News reported.

The funding was the result of 73.8 million pounds ($100 million) in equity financing from SoftBank’s Vision Fund II and 37 million pounds ($50 million) in debt financing from Barclays and HSBC, the report said.

“2022 is set to be another impressive year for Gousto, as we capitalise on the accelerated megatrends driving change in the grocery market: convenience, health, sustainability,” Timo Boldt, CEO and co-founder, told the news outlet. “This successful raise is further testament to the relevance and appetite for our recipe box solution.”

In 2020, Gousto raised 25 million pounds ($34 million) from Perwyn and BGF. So far, the subscription service has raised 267 million pounds ($361.5 million) in funding over 14 rounds, according to Crunchbase.

The recipe-box startup said it will use the money to fund an automated and AI-driven fulfilment center near Birmingham that will offering 40% more capacity.

The company was founded in 2011 by Boldt and James Carter who noticed when they lacked time to shop at supermarkets and found it challenging to cook recipes from TV shows and online databases.

Gousto offers users all the ingredients in the right proportions to cook a proper meal at home. According to the company, the recipes are developed by a team of passionate chefs, and every week the selection is updated with new recipes.

Last fall, PYMNTS reported the pandemic has fueled an explosion of the global subscription eCommerce market. The combination of restricted options for dining out, little time for food preparation and the culinary limitations of takeout made meal kit subscriptions among the breakout stars of 2020.

Businesses that deliver ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook subscription meal kits are expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% and reach $27 billion in market size by 2028.

Read more: Deep Dive: How Consumers’ Growing Appetite for Subscription Services Can Help Sustain the Food and Restaurant Industries