UK-based recipe box delivery company Gousto has received £5m ($8.3m) in series A funding from Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of customer goods company Unilever, and venture fund MMC Ventures.
Gousto’s service delivers between three and 10 chef-developed recipes to customers’ houses each week along with the ingredients, enabling them to cook the meals from scratch. The capital will allow the company to invest in innovation and product development.
Timo Schmidt, chief executive of Gousto, said: “The UK grocery market is worth £200bn, and there has been a seismic shift from offline to online. Our extreme focus on quality and the fact that customer can choose the recipes they love, make Gousto completely unique.
“At £4-5 per meal including delivery this is a phenomenal value proposition that customers love. The funding is amazing news for customers as it will be entirely used to make their lives even easier and better.”
As part of the deal, Unilever Ventures director Jan Harley will now join the board at Gousto.
Gousto first received funding after appearing on UK television show Dragon’s Den. It previously raised $300,000 from private investors and $2m in round last year that was led by MMC Ventures.