U.K. meal kit company Gousto has landed $230 million in funding from investors led by Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Feb. 24).
The financing marks SoftBank’s second investment in Gousto this year. In January, the firm invested $100 million in the food subscription service, valuing Gousto at $1.7 billion.
Gousto was founded in 2011 by CEO Timo Boldt and James Carter after they realized they had no time to shop at supermarkets and were frustrated when trying to cook recipes from TV shows and online databases.
The company, known for its red recipe boxes, offers users all ingredients they need in the proper proportions to prepare a meal at home. Gousto says these recipes are developed by a team of chefs, with the selection of meals updated weekly.
Read more: UK Meal-Kit Subscription Service Gousto Grabs $150M in Funding
As the news report notes, the company was able to meet the pandemic head on and reported its first profit in 2020, selling 53 million meals. The company says it wants to double the number of workers on its tech team by the close of this year.
Gousto has “succeeded in disrupting the traditional grocery channel when it comes to how we consume the evening meal,” SoftBank’s Max Ohrstrand said Thursday in a statement announcing the investment.
Additional investors in the latest funding round include Fidelity International, Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Railpen, the U.K.’s seventh-largest pension fund, Gousto said.
“I’m thrilled that following on from their initial investment, SoftBank has increased its stake, which speaks volumes for where they see the business heading,” Boldt said in the statement.
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