A food tech startup that connects top chefs to businesses needing catering is expanding to dozens of markets over the next two years thanks to some investments from celebs from the realms of comedy, music, sports, and the Obama White House.
Kevin Hart, Jay-Z, and a slew of other notables, including NFL players Todd Gurley and Bobby Wagner; former White House chef Sam Kass; President Obama’s former special assistant Reggie Love; and Leonard Green Partners’ Jonathan Sokoloff participated in the Series B funding round that raised $19.7 million for Hungry Marketplace Inc., the company announced.
Money from the round, led by Evolution VC Partners and former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb, will be used to grow to 23 cities.
Jay-Z, through his Marcy Ventures Partners, along with singer Usher, Tampa Bay Buccaneer Ndamukong Suh, former Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb and restaurateur Tom Colicchio was also part of the $8 million Series A round, led by Sands Capital Ventures and Motley Fool Ventures in 2019.
The new round brings Hungry’s total funding to $32.6 million.
Launched in Washington D.C. in 2017, the platform plays in the $60 billion office catering market, allowing office administrators to choose from a wide variety of cuisines.
Hungry employs workers -- 70 now, but expected to double by the end of the year -- to provide delivery, meal set up, and clean up after the event.
It uses independent chefs working from licensed commercial kitchens, whose menus undergo tasting before getting site approval. The platform gives some chefs the ability to make more than $50,000 a month, Hungry said.
About 200 chefs, including “Food Network Star '' winners, James Beard Award nominees, and American Culinary Federation members are signed up.
“You could order food from Hungry for a month and not eat the same food twice,” said COO Eman Pahlevani, who along with his older brother, Shy, and longtime friend Jeff Grass, founded the venture.
The company assigns employees to accounts so that they become familiar with customers and building layouts and policies, reducing the likelihood of new delivery people having to figure out how to access buildings and dense office parks, Pahlevani said.
“Having late delivery or when the driver doesn't know how to get into the building just creates all kinds of headaches and hassles that these office managers and admins don't want to deal with,” he said.
The service, which offers meals at a cost of $9-$13 a person, is also available in Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York, Boston and Austin, Texas, and is now launching in Dallas.
Hungry plans to open in five other markets this year and another 12 in 2021.
Related: Off-Premises Dining to Grow Restaurant Sales; Middleby Launches Ghost Kitchen Solutions.
Photo: Hungry Marketplace
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