UK meal kit company Gousto raises $22.9m in funding round

UK-based cook-at-home meal kit service company Gousto has raised £18m ($22.9m) in a new equity funding round.

The company received additional investments from existing shareholders including Unilever, Hargreave Hale, BGF Ventures, MMC Ventures and Angel CoFund.

Gousto also received an investment from global health influencer Joe Wicks.

Joe Wicks was quoted by Techcrunch as saying: “It was clear from when I first approached Gousto that they were a purpose-driven business, with a passion for getting more people cooking and in turn improving the health of the nation.

“As a customer before becoming an investor, I know that Gousto is having a lasting and hugely positive impact on the way families consume and eat food.

“I’m delighted to join forces and offer my knowledge to a company who has brought huge and much-needed innovation to the industry.”

Established in 2012, Gousto currently delivers more than 1.5 million meals monthly in the UK, as well as selling weekly recipes.

The company raised £28.5m last year, bringing the total since it was launched to £75m.

Funding raised by the company last year was used to increase production capacity at the factory and launch a customer facing AI recipe recommendation tool.

With the latest funding, the company plans to invest in tech innovation in order to further accelerate its growth.

The company aims to help serve 400 million nutritious home-cooked meals to UK families by 2025.