FreshRealm, a prepared fresh meals company based in Ventura, California, announced this week that it has raised $32 million. The institutional investors were not disclosed, and this brings the company’s total funding to $46.6 million.
This most recent round of funding will be used to expand FreshRealm’s production facilities, with the goal of opening additional facilities throughout the country for increased distribution. The company plans to focus on product innovation and developing proprietary ingredients for its meals. FreshRealm has plans to accelerate its growth strategy for its upcoming nationwide rollout in grocery retailers.
FreshRealm claims to be the only fresh meal company with a nationwide reach. Its prepared meals are not frozen, and the company applies “just-in-time” logistics to ensure all ingredients are fresh. The capital will also be used to develop different products, including ready-to-heat meals, ready-to-cook meals, and meal kit offerings.
Quite a few direct-to-consumer prepared meal companies already exist, including Freshly, Daily Harvest, HungryRoot. Companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh ship meal kit boxes filled with various ingredients to the consumer with directions on how to assemble the meal at home. Sunbasket and Purple Carrot are now a hybrid service offering both prepared meals and meal kits. FreshRealm is taking a slightly different approach by offering fresh, not frozen, prepared meals that will be offered in grocery stores and retailers rather than shipped directly to the consumer’s home.
FreshRealm has not announced which exact retailers it will partner with but did say its meals are currently available in a few select retailers. The company has plans for a national rollout in Fall 2021.
