Ben & Jerry to Pot Noodle consumer goods giant Unilever is betting that Brits will soon be ordering DIY meals online, taking part in a £5 million ($8.3m) investment in recipe delivery start-up Gousto.
Gousto, founded in 2012 by former bankers Timo Schmidt and James Carter, delivers boxes of ingredients to customers with recipe suggestions. The start-up is part of a wave of companies helping to normalise shopping for food online, including Ocado and Just Eat.
The Shepherds Bush based company appeared on Dragons’ Den last August but failed to secure funding.
Since then it has raised almost £2 million from venture capital firms and today announced it has raised $8.3 million from Unilever’s venture capital arm and London-based MMC Ventures.
Jan Harley, director of Unilever Ventures, said: “Gousto has a great combination - a brilliant consumer proposition and a strong and innovative management team.
"Consumers are looking for great tasting, healthy, and convenient meal solutions and are increasingly looking online. We anticipate that the market will grow very strongly over the next few years and see Gousto as a potential market leader.”
Gousto faces competition from a number of other start-ups in the ‘recipe box’ delivery market, including HelloFresh, which recently raised $50 million, and The Recipe Kit.
As part of the deal Harley, who founded Unilever’s venture capital division, will join Gousto’s board. The company said the funding will go towards product development and customer service.
Schmidt, Gousto’s chief executive, said: “The funding is amazing news for customers as it will be entirely used to make their lives even easier and better.”
