Sunbasket is a subscription

meal delivery service Retail food delivery is a courier service in which a restaurant, store, or independent food-delivery company delivers food to a customer. An order is typically made either through a restaurant or grocer's website or mobile app, or through a foo ...

that ships members fresh, organic, and sustainable ingredients and recipes every week, allowing them to cook their own meals. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates two regional distribution centers in

Morgan Hill, CA Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

and

Westampton, New Jersey Westampton is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 9,121, an increase of 308 (+3.5%) from the 2010 census count of 8,813, which in turn reflected ...

. It is part of the

meal kit A meal kit is a subscription service–foodservice business model where a company sends customers pre-portioned and sometimes partially-prepared food ingredients and recipes to prepare homecooked meals. Services that send pre-cooked meals ...

industry.

History

Sunbasket was founded in 2014 by San Francisco chef Justine Kelly, former Chef de Cuisine at the Slanted Door, tech entrepreneur Adam Zbar, Tyler MacNiven, the 2006 winner of The Amazing Race and the company's head of user experience, and George Nachtrieb. Kelly appeared on

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...

, and had been cooking in San Francisco for 25 years. Tyler Florence, a celebrity chef, is one of its board members. By May 2015, the company was serving customers in eight states. In May 2016, the company raised $11.62M in series A funding, led by PivotNorth Capital,

Baseline Ventures Baseline Ventures is a venture capital investment firm that focuses on seed and growth-stage investments in technology companies. The company was the first seed investor in Instagram, an early investor of Twitter and has been called "one of Silic ...

Vulcan Capital Management Vulcan Capital Management, Inc (which is a different and unrelated entity to Vulcan Capital or Vulcan Inc., two companies founded by Paul Allen.) is a private equity firm focusing on investments in distressed restructurings, acquisitions, growth ...

, Tyler Florence Group and several others. and in July, the company raised $15 million in series B funding. By July, the company had expanded its operations by opening an East Coast distribution center, and announced plans to open a third. The company grew from 10 employees from its 2014 launch to 400 in July 2016. In February 2017, the company announced a $15 million Series C funding round led by

Sapphire Ventures Sapphire Ventures (stylized as SAPPHIRE) is a venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Austin, and London. The firm is considered one of the world's premier venture capital firms. The firm primarily invests in Series B t ...

and several others. In May, the company announced a Series C-2 round, led by Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of food giant

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

. The funding was earmarked to increase its coverage area by opening a distribution center in the Midwest, to go along with its two existing centers on the West and East Coast. In January 2018, the company secured a $57.9 million series D and debt segment funding round, and also announced an expansion with two new distribution centers in the Midwest and East Coast. In March, the company opened a 190,000 sq. ft distribution center in New Jersey. In May, the company announced it was working with the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

to introduce diabetes-friendly recipes. In October, the company's meals received the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

's Heart-Check certification. In November, the company announced that it was working with the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

to create meals that met that organization's health guidelines. In May 2019, Sunbasket raised $30 million in Series E funding, including an investment from Unilever Ventures. In August, the company announced it was closing its

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

distribution center. In December 2021, Sunbasket merged with Prüvit Ventures, a keto supplement maker, in an all-stock deal, with Sunbasket and Prüvit becoming wholly-owned subsidiaries of PSB Holdings, a new holding company.

Service

The company serves customers who have strict dietary restrictions, offering

paleo __NOTOC__ ''Paleo'' may refer to: Prehistoric Era, Age, or Period * Paleolithic, a prehistoric Era, Age, or Period of human history People * David Strackany, aka "Paleo", an American folk singer-songwriter Art, entertainment, and media * ''P ...

, gluten-free and vegetarian options, among others. It is one of the few meal kit companies that is

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

- Certified Organic. The ingredients are sourced from California farms.

Personnel

The company's recipes are created by Chef Justine Kelly, the former Chef de Cuisine at the Slanted Door, and a former contestant on

. Tyler MacNiven, the 2006 winner of

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

, is a co-founder and the company's head of user experience.

Tyler Florence Tyler Florence (born March 3, 1971) is a chef and television host of several Food Network shows. He graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of Johnson & Wales University in 1991. He was later given an ...

, a celebrity chef, is one its board members.

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 A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

fiber; ice packs made from GMO cotton and water; and fully compostable ingredient bags.

External links

Sunbasket

References