Sun Basket

Sun Basket is a San Francisco-based subscription meal delivery service that ships members fresh organic and sustainable ingredients and recipes every month, allowing them to cook their own meals.[2] It is part of the meal kit industry.[3]

Sun Basket, Inc.
Type of businessPrivate
FoundedApril 2014 (2014-04)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area servedUnited States
Founder(s)Justine Kelly, Adam Zbar
Key peopleAdam Zbar (CEO)
Justine Kelly (Executive Chef)
IndustryMeal kit
Employees338 (2019)[1]
URLsunbasket.com

History

Sun Basket was founded in 2014 by San Francisco chef Justine Kelly, tech entrepreneur Adam Zbar, Tyler MacNiven and George Nachtrieb.[4] Kelly had appeared on Iron Chef America, and had been cooking in San Francisco for 25 years. Zbar previously founded social analytics platform Tap11, which he sold to the founders of YouTube.[2]

By May 2015, the company was serving customers in eight states.[2]

In May 2016, the company raised $11.62M in series A funding, led by PivotNorth Capital, Baseline Ventures, Vulcan Capital Management, Tyler Florence Group and several others.[5] and in July, the company raised $15 million in series B funding.[6] By July, the company had expanded its operations by opening an East Coast distribution center, and announced plans to open a third.[7] The company grew from 10 employees from its 2014 launch to 400 in July 2016.[6]

In February 2017, the company announced a $15 million Series C funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and several others.[8] In May, the company announced a Series C-2 round, led by Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of food giant Unilever.[9] The funding was earmarked to increase its coverage area by opening a distribution center in the Midwest, to go along with their two existing centers in the West and East Coast.[10]

In January 2018, the company secured a $57.9 million series D and debt segment funding round, and also announced expansion with two new distribution centers in the Midwest and East Coast.[11] In March, the company opened a 190,000 sq. ft distribution center in New Jersey.[12] In May, the company announced it was working with the American Diabetes Association to introduce diabetes-friendly recipes.[13] In October, the company's meals received the American Heart Association's Heart-Check certification.[14] In November, the company announced that it was working with the American Cancer Society to create meals that met that organization's health guidelines.[15]

In May 2019, Sun Basket raised $30 million in Series E funding, including an investment from Unilever Ventures.[16]

Service

The company serves customers who have strict dietary restrictions, offering paleo, gluten-free and vegetarian options, among others.[17][18] It is one of the few meal kit companies that is USDA - Certified Organic.[19] The ingredients are sourced from California farms.[2]

Personnel

The company's recipes are created by Chef Kelly, the former Chef de Cuisine at the Slanted Door, and a former contestant on Iron Chef America.[20] Tyler MacNiven, the 2006 winner of The Amazing Race, is a co-founder and the company's head of user experience.[21] Tyler Florence, a celebrity chef, is one its board members.[2]

Sustainability

In response to industry concerns about wasteful packaging in meal kits, the company set a goal to produce zero waste packaging, and developed recyclable insulation liners using recyclable PET fiber; ice packs made from GMO cotton and water; and fully compostable ingredient bags.[22][6]

Operations

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates three regional distribution centers, in San Jose, CA, St. Louis, Missouri, and Westampton, New Jersey. The St. Louis center is in a cave.[23]

See also

References
  1. "Sun Basket profile", Craft, retrieved 13 August 2019
  2. "San Francisco startup cooks up service that brings healthy food to your door". bizjournals.com. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  3. "Meal kit delivery startups are eating into supermarket revenue". businessinsider.com. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  4. "Sun Basket cooks up another $15 million for gluten-free and paleo meal kits". techcrunch.com. 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  5. "Sun Basket wraps up Series A with $11.6 mln round". pehub.com. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  6. "Meal kits are becoming part of modern lifestyles, says Sun Basket CEO as organic meal kit co raises $15 million". foodnavigator-usa.com. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  7. "Sun Basket Raises $15M Up Round as Overall Food Delivery Market Cools". inc.com. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  8. "U.S. food delivery service Sun Basket hires banks for IPO: sources". reuters.com. 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  9. "Exclusive: Unilever Is Investing in the Red-Hot Meal Kit Space". fortune.com. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  10. "Unilever Backs Organic Meal Kit Startup in $9.2M Series C-2 Round". foxbusiness.com. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  11. "Sun Basket hits $275 million run rate and raises $57.8 million to fuel meal delivery expansion". venturebeat.com. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  12. "Sun Basket opens larger distribution center in New Jersey". fooddive.com. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  13. "Meal kit service Sun Basket tries to reach a new audience: 30 million people with diabetes". cnbc.com. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  14. "Sun Basket Launches Heart-Healthy Meal Delivery Service". cookinglight.com. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  15. "Sun Basket Offers Meal Kits Based on American Cancer Society Guidelines". specialtyfood.com. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  16. Africa, Food Business (2019-05-22). "Meal kit delivery service Sun Basket raises US$30m backed by Unilever". www.foodbusinessafrica.com. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  17. Watson, Elaine (2015-10-26). "Sun Basket poised for growth in burgeoning meal-kit-delivery market". Food Navigator USA. Food Navigator USA. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  18. "Why Sun Basket Is More Like Stitch Fix Than Blue Apron". cheddar.com. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  19. Gunst, Kathy (2016-06-02). "Do Meal Kits Provide Great Taste Along With Convenience?". wbur.org. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  20. Hare, Sarah. "Another Hot Chef". Diablo Magazine. Diablo Magazine. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  21. "Workout Buddies and Work Colleagues". wsj.com. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  22. "Meal kits are convenient, but what about the wasteful packaging?". mnn.com. 2016-08-27. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  23. "Meal kit company Sun Basket bought a cave, and it's helping them beat Blue Apron". cnbc.com. 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
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