Meal Kit And Food Tech Firm Tovala Raises $30 Million To Fuel Growth

Meal service company Tovala has completed a $30 million funding round, the Chicago-based firm announced in a Thursday (Feb. 4) press release. Tovala is unique, the release said, in that it pairs meal kit subscriptions with a “countertop smart oven that scans, steams, bakes, and broils its chef-crafted meals.”

“Meals take less than one minute to prep and cook perfectly in under 20 minutes,” according to Tovala. The company said its business took off during the pandemic, “as consumers invested in at-home meal solutions that met their dual demands of convenience and quality.”

Tovala said the $30 million Series C funding round was led by Left Lane Capital, “an investment group focused on high-growth internet and consumer companies,” with participation from previous investors Finistere Ventures, Comcast Ventures, OurCrowd, Origin Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Joe Mansueto.

That brings to $50 million the funding that Tovala has landed in a six-month time span. The company, founded in 2017, said the funding has allowed it to open a new production facility, hire workers and improve customer service.

“During a year when normal life was impossible, and we collectively faced unexpected hardships, the Tovala team rallied to provide our customers with a source of comfort: meals they could rely on,” said Tovala CEO David Rabie.

“The pairing of a meal subscription with a connected device has enabled Tovala to achieve a customer retention rate that is a step-function better than anything else we’ve seen in food delivery — in many ways similar to what Peloton achieved in a traditionally low-retention fitness industry,” said Jason Fiedler, co-founder and managing partner at Left Lane Capital. He said his firm is “excited about Tovala’s potential to be the next major food tech company.”

Tovala’s growth comes as consumers are showing an increased appetite for meal kit subscription services. The pandemic is helping drive the meal kit subscription market to reach a predicted $20 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent.