Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, has taken part in a £10m ($12.5m) round for UK-based recipe box provider Gousto.
The round also featured financial services firm Barclays, venture capital firm MMC Ventures, the UK state-backed Angel CoFund and BGF Ventures, the VC fund supported by five UK banks, one of which is Barclays.
Founded in 2012, Gousto runs a subscription-based service whereby customers order boxes to be delivered to their doors containing recipes and the ingredients required to make each dish.
The company, which has broadened its offering to also include wine and desserts, said it currently delivers around 100,000 meals a week to UK customers.
Timo Boldt, Gousto’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “The additional funding will allow Gousto to accelerate our efforts to create the very best customer experience, and allow us to achieve our food waste mission.
“It is really simple, but this way we please our customers, build a sustainable business, and do good in the world.”
Gousto has now raised more than $37m altogether, Unilever Ventures and MMC Ventures having supplied $8.3m in series A funding in 2014. They returned for a $13.5m series B round in December 2015 that included BGF Ventures, Angel CoFund and individual investor Andi Peters.
– Photo courtesy of Gousto