Freshly was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

convenience food Convenience food (also called tertiary processed food) is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) for ease of consumption, and is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have ...

delivery company that delivered throughout the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

. It was acquired by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

in October 2020 and was shut down in January 2023. The company delivered one million meals per week. Meals were able to be heated by

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been use ...

without preparation. Freshly also donated excess ingredients and meals to local

food banks A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...

as a part of its partnership with

Feeding America Feeding America is a United States–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other c ...

History

Freshly was founded by Michael Wystrach and Carter Comstock in 2012. Wystrach sought to lose weight after a decline in his health following years working in the financial field. His family operated a restaurant, The Steak Out in

Sonoita, Arizona Sonoita (; ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 803 at the 2020 census. The origin of the name of the CDP is the O'odham ''Ṣon ʼOidag'', which may be best translated as "sp ...

, and he and a family friend,

emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

doctor Frank Comstock, helped prepare nutritious meals for delivery. After word of mouth spread, Frank's son, Carter Comstock, founded the company with Wystrach. Wystrach was influenced by

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

program initiatives and adopted minimal

food waste The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...

and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

into Freshly's menus. In July 2015, the company raised a $7 million

Series A round A series A is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. It can be followed by the word round, investment or financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in excha ...

. In July 2016, the company raised $21 million in a

funding round A securities offering (or funding round or investment round) is a discrete round of investment, by which a business or other enterprise raises money to fund operations, expansion, a capital (economics), capital project, an acquisition, or some oth ...

led by

Insight Partners Insight Venture Management, LLC (commonly referred to as Insight Partners and previously Insight Venture Partners) is a global venture capital and private equity firm that invests in high-growth technology, software, and internet businesses. The ...

. In February 2017, the company announced plans to open a meal distribution center in

Savage, Maryland Savage is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States, approximately south of Baltimore and north of Washington, D.C. It is situated clo ...

and the creation of 500 jobs. In June 2017, the company raised $77 million in a funding round led by

. In 2020, Freshly expanded to business-to-business food delivery, including to workers in

essential services Essential services may refer to a class of occupations that have been legislated by a government to have special restrictions in regard to labour actions such as not being allowed to strike. The International Labour Office, a United Nations ag ...

. In October 2020, Freshly was acquired by

for US$950 million plus up to another US$550 million in earn out payments. In December 2020, the company launched a service to cater to

active living Active living is a lifestyle that integrates physical activity into everyday routines, such as walking to the store or biking to work. Active living is not a formalized exercise program or routine, but instead means to incorporate physical acti ...

styles and low-carb,

high protein diet A high-protein diet is a diet in which 20% or more of the total daily calories come from protein. Many high protein diets are high in saturated fat and restrict intake of carbohydrates. Example foods in a high-protein diet include lean beef, chi ...

s. In February 2021, Freshly announced a new 134,000 square-foot distribution center in

Austell, Georgia Austell is a city in Cobb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,713. History Game hunters and trappers frequently went through the area that is ...

. In July 2022, the company closed this distribution center. In August 2022, the company announced a service focused on delivering meals to businesses. In December 2022, the company closed its distribution center in

, laying off 454 people. In January 2023, Freshly ceased operations. In May 2023, former investors of Freshly sued

for failing to make earn-out payments.

References

External links

{{Online food ordering American companies disestablished in 2022 American companies established in 2012 Defunct online companies of the United States Defunct subscription services Internet properties disestablished in 2022 Internet properties established in 2012 Online food ordering Online food retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 2012 Transport companies established in 2012