Gousto, the UK-based meal delivery service that counts consumer goods manufacturer Unilever as an investor, has secured £28.5m ($39.8m) in funding.
Investment management firm Hargreave Hale, investment fund Angel CoFund, venture capital firm MMC Ventures and BGF Ventures, the VC offshoot of the UK government-mandated Business Growth Fund, provided the capital.
Gousto has built a meal-kit delivery service that sends ingredients and recipes to subscribers’ homes. It offers 29 meal options across nine categories and will spend the funding on hiring and product development as it looks to enhance its automation technology.
Timo Boldt, Gousto’s founder and CEO, said: “Our commitment to technology has seen us create a leading value proposition, driving customer satisfaction levels 56% higher than the UK’s leading supermarket.
“Over the next year, we will win even more of the 1 billion meals eaten in the UK, by prioritising investment in AI and automation to ‘wow’ customers.
“New funding allows us to continue transforming the grocery market and supporting the British economy with the creation of new jobs, with our headcount expected to increase twofold over the next few years.”
The company has now raised a total of almost $77m since it was founded in 2012, including $8.3m in a 2014 series A round featuring Unilever’s corporate venturing unit, Unilever Ventures, and MMC Ventures.
The series A investors were joined by BGF Ventures, Angel Co-Fund and private investor Andi Peters for Gousto’s $13.5m series B round the following year, and Unilever Ventures, MMC, Angel CoFund, BGF and financial services firm Barclays provided another $12.5m in late 2016.
– Photo courtesy of Gousto.