Gousto, a UK-based subscription service that delivers recipes and ingredients, obtained £9m ($13.5m) in a series B round on Monday featuring Unilever Ventures, consumer goods conglomerate Unilever’s corporate venturing unit.
BGF Ventures, a £200m fund operated by the UK government and bank-backed Business Growth Fund, contributed £3m to the round, marking the fund’s first investment. MMC Ventures, Angel Co-Fund and private investor Andi Peters also contributed to the funding.
Founded in 2012, Gousto delivers boxes containing recipes and the required ingredients, sourced directly from farmers, to users who then prepare the meals themselves at home. Customers can plan, order and arrange the delivery of boxes through a smartphone app.
Gousto will use the cash to grow its team of chefs and nutritionists, increase its sales and marketing efforts, and broaden its selection of meals and delivery options. Simon Calver, partner at BGF Ventures, will join Gousto’s board in conjunction with the round.
The company raised $8.3m in series A funding from Unilever Ventures and MMC Ventures in September 2014, after MMC had led a $2m seed round in December 2013 that also included Angel Co-Fund.
Angel Co-Fund and unnamed angel investors injected $750,000 in 2013, while angel investors Ian West and Andrea Raffel provided $300,000 in funding in May 2014.