Recipe box boom: Meal-kit firm Gousto lands US$38 million funding

15 Jul 2019 --- UK recipe box company Gousto has secured an additional £30 million (US$37.7 million) investment in a funding round led by Perwyn, a family-backed private equity investment firm. This takes Gousto’s total funding to more than £100 million (US$125.6 million), which will be invested into Gousto’s automation and artifical intelligence (AI) to further its tech footprint, and is expected to create 140 additional jobs over the next three years.

Gousto has seen a year-on-year growth of 70 percent and currently serves two million meals each month, while the UK recipe box market is expected to exceed £1.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) by 2022. Gousto stands out with its use of fully automated production, which is powered by data science. The addition of 140 technology employees by 2022 will build on its current 80-strong London-based team. The company will also continue to invest in automation to enable more orders to be made via AI.

Meal kits are increasingly popular. “In the busiest of worlds, consumer shopping behaviors are rapidly changing. People increasingly have less time for the ‘big shop,’ but still want to cook differing, quality meals and maintain a healthy, balanced diet,” says Timo Boldt, CEO and Founder of Gousto.

Existing investors in Gousto include BGF Ventures, MMC Ventures, Canaccord Genuity, Unilever Ventures and Joe Wicks. “We are delighted to be making this investment and joining the exciting journey that Gousto is on. We believe the company will go from strength to strength by bringing new and innovative ways for consumers to prepare and eat healthy, fresh and delicious meals at home,” adds Andrew Wynn, Founder and Managing Partner, Perwyn.

Meal kits like those supplied by Gousto are more sustainable than store-bought meals, suggests recent research. It was found that despite using more packaging materials, the meal kits still had an average of a third less greenhouse gas emissions. 

Additionally, meal kits can increase healthy food selections in US food pantry clients. People are more likely to choose whole grains and leafy greens when they are presented with all the ingredients needed to make a meal. 

By Katherine Durrell