Sun Basket

Sun Basket
Type of business Private
Founded April 2014 (2014-04)
Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served United States
Founder(s) Justine Kelly, Adam Zbar
Key people Adam Zbar, CEO
Justine Kelly, Executive Chef
Industry Meal kit
Employees 400 (2016)[1]
Website sunbasket.com

Sun Basket is a San Francisco-based subscription meal delivery service that ships members fresh organic and sustainable ingredients and recipes every month, allowing them to cook their own meals.[2] It is part of the growing meal kit segment.[3]

Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of multi-national consumer goods company Unilever, is an investor.[4]

History

Sun Basket was founded in 2014 by San Francisco chef Justine Kelly and tech entrepreneur Adam Zbar.[5] Kelly had appeared on Iron Chef America, and had been cooking in San Francisco for 25 years. Zbar previously founded social analytics platform Tap11, which he sold to the founders of YouTube.[2]

By May 2015, the company was serving customers in eight states.[2]

In May 2016, the company raised $11.6.2M in series A funding, led by PivotNorth Capital, Baseline Ventures, Vulcan Capital Management, Tyler Florence Group and several others.[6] and in July, the company raised $15 million in series B funding.[1] By July, the company had expanded its operations by opening an East Coast distribution center, and announced plans to open a third.[7] The company grew from 10 employees from its 2014 launch to 400 in July 2016.[1]

In February 2017, the company announced a $15 million Series C funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and several others.[8] In May, the company announced a Series C-2 round, led by Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of food giant Unilever.[4] The funding was earmarked to increase its coverage area by opening a distribution center in the Midwest, to go along with their two existing centers in the West and East Coast.[9]

Service

The company provides gluten-free, paleo diet, and vegetarian meal kit options.[10] It is one of the few meal kit companies that is USDA - Certified Organic.[11] Chef Justine Kelly sources the ingredients from California farms.[2]

Personnel

The company's recipes are created by Chef Kelly, the former Chef de Cuisine at the Slanted Door, and a former contestant on Iron Chef America.[12] Tyler MacNiven, the 2016 winner of The Amazing Race, is a co-founder and the company's head of user experience.[13] Tyler Florence, a celebrity chef, is one its board members.[2]

Sustainability

In response to industry concerns about wasteful packaging in meal kits,[14] the company set a goal to produce zero waste packaging, and developed recyclable insulation liners using recyclable PET fiber; ice packs made from GMO cotton and water; and fully compostable ingredient bags.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Meal kits are becoming part of modern lifestyles, says Sun Basket CEO as organic meal kit co raises $15 million". foodnavigator-usa.com. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "San Francisco startup cooks up service that brings healthy food to your door". bizjournals.com. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  3. ↑ "Meal kit delivery startups are eating into supermarket revenue". businessinsider.com. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  4. 1 2 "Exclusive: Unilever Is Investing in the Red-Hot Meal Kit Space". fortune.com. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  5. ↑ "Sun Basket cooks up another $15 million for gluten-free and paleo meal kits". techcrunch.com. 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  6. ↑ "Sun Basket wraps up Series A with $11.6 mln round". pehub.com. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  7. ↑ "Sun Basket Raises $15M Up Round as Overall Food Delivery Market Cools". inc.com. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  8. ↑ "U.S. food delivery service Sun Basket hires banks for IPO: sources". reuters.com. 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  9. ↑ "Unilever Backs Organic Meal Kit Startup in $9.2M Series C-2 Round". foxbusiness.com. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  10. ↑ Watson, Elaine (2015-10-26). "Sun Basket poised for growth in burgeoning meal-kit-delivery market". Food Navigator USA. Food Navigator USA. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  11. ↑ Gunst, Kathy (2016-06-02). "Do Meal Kits Provide Great Taste Along With Convenience?". wbur.org. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  12. ↑ Hare, Sarah. "Another Hot Chef". Diablo Magazine. Diablo Magazine. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  13. ↑ "Workout Buddies and Work Colleagues". wsj.com. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  14. ↑ "Meal kits are convenient, but what about the wasteful packaging?". mnn.com. 2016-08-27. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
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