CAMDEN, N.J. & EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) today announced a strategic partnership and investment of $10 million in Chef’d, a best-in-class e-commerce meal marketplace, which will help grow Campbell’s e-commerce capabilities. Campbell’s investment is part of the Series B round of funding for Chef’d.
With the investment, Campbell will become Chef’d’s largest strategic investor and will receive a seat on the company’s board of directors. Under the terms of the partnership, Chef’d will help with infrastructure and distribution of meal solutions through the Campbell’s Kitchen site. Additionally, Campbell will benefit from Chef’d’s insights on e-commerce business models, access to data analytics and insights on shopper behaviors. The two companies will also test various capabilities over the three-year agreement around product innovation and fulfilment.
“E-commerce will transform the food industry in similar ways to how it transformed entertainment and apparel. It is a game changer for consumers, food makers and retailers alike,” said Denise Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer at Campbell Soup Company. “The movement is irrevocable and irreversible. In the future, shopping for and preparing meals will be flexible, fully automated and even anticipatory. Chef’d will help Campbell connect with our consumers where they are today and, more importantly, where they’re headed.”
Chef’d offers people the opportunity to choose and reorder from hundreds of meals at any given time, without the hassle and cost of subscriptions or membership fees. Chef’d partners with notable chefs, culinary personalities and over 125 trusted brands in food, fitness, and health and wellness to offer over 1,000 meal solutions spanning breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.
“We are actively looking to add strategic partners and Campbell’s outlook on the future of food and e-commerce aligns perfectly with the Chef’d vision of the future of online grocery,” said Kyle Ransford, CEO at Chef’d. “Both Campbell and Chef’d believe in continuing to drive innovation in the new food economy, particularly around consumer customization and e-commerce solutions.”
Between 2016 and 2021, Campbell projects e-commerce sales of food and beverages to reach $66 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 38 percent.1
“We are fully committed to growing our e-commerce business with an emphasis on bold moves and rapid pace,” said Mark Alexander, President, Americas Simple Meals and Beverages at Campbell. “We are firm believers in building relationships with partners that share our vision while enabling us to rapidly learn, evolve and test new capabilities.”
This announcement follows a series of moves Campbell has made to develop an ecosystem of innovative partners focused on defining the future of food. In February 2016, Campbell committed $125 million to Acre Venture Partners and continues to support innovative start-ups such as Habit and the Soulfull Project.
Other investors in Chef’d’s Series B round include Fresh Direct, which is making a follow-on investment to their Series A investment. DA Davidson & Co. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Chef’d and will continue to represent the company in raising the balance of the Series B round.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell (NYSE:CPB) is driven and inspired by our Purpose, “Real food that matters for life’s moments.” We make a range of high-quality soups and simple meals, beverages, snacks and packaged fresh foods. For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and readily available foods and beverages that connect them to each other, to warm memories and to what’s important today. Led by our iconic Campbell’s brand, our portfolio includes Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, Arnott’s, V8, Swanson, Pace, Prego, Plum, Royal Dansk, Kjeldsens and Garden Fresh Gourmet. Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet’s natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo. To learn more about how we make our food and the choices behind the ingredients we use, visit www.whatsinmyfood.com.
About Chef’d
Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Chef’d is an e-commerce meal marketplace that partners with celebrated chefs, media outlets and culinary influencers to offer thousands of meal solutions that make it easy for anyone to cook high-quality meals at home. Launched in late April 2015, Chef’d was created to help consumers rethink the home-cooked meal by offering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients that aim to eliminate food waste and in turn cut consumer grocery costs, all without the hassle of subscription or membership fees. This allows consumers to personalize their orders and reorder their favorites whenever they want. Follow on Twitter @get_chefd and Instagram @Chefd.
1 Source: Proprietary Campbell Estimate
