Consumer Startup Chef’d Secures $35.2 Million

According to CNBC and a filing this week with the SEC, Chef’d just raised $35.2 million. Pork producer Smithfield Foods invested $25 million and Campbell Soup contributed $10 million in the round, with the remaining $200,000 coming from online grocer Fresh Direct.

Founded in 2013, Chef’d offers recipes with premium ingredients and easy-to-follow cooking instructions, delivered directly to customers’ front door. The company partners with celebrity chefs, popular restaurants, food bloggers, and food media around the world to recreate celebrity- and food expert-linked recipes into simple and delicious fully-prepped meal kits.

In the interview with CNBC, Chef’d CEO Kyle Ransford highlighted two primary characteristics that differentiate his company from Blue Apron and other players. The first is that Chef’d, which delivers hundreds of thousands of meals a month, is not a subscription business, meaning consumers can order whenever they want and from a wide selection of over 1,000 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Secondly, Chef’d spends just 1 percent of its sales on promoting the product. Blue Apron, by contrast, spent about 25 percent of its $245 million in first-quarter revenue on marketing. Rather than offering free meals and deep discounts for newcomers and spending heavily on social media, Chef’d relies on partnerships with household brands that have big budgets.