ChefPrep raises $3M as it looks to become “Amazon for food"
Sydney-based ChefPrep has raised $3 million in seed funding as they look to build what they hope will be an “Amazon for food” like business.
Co-founders of ChefPrep, Joshua Abulafia and Elle Curran, started their company during the pandemic to help Sydney restaurants deliver frozen at-home meals during the ongoing lockdowns.
Since then, they have enjoyed double digit growth since launching less than a year ago. They also aim to double in staff by the end of 2022.
“We’ve built a product that resonated with restaurants because we’re almost positioning ourselves as the anti-Uber, because we’re working with our partners to give them this new revenue stream that transitions them from food service businesses into food manufacturers,” Mr Abulafia said.
“They’re able to use their downtime, and for consumers they can now order from 30 different restaurants, and soon that will be possible from whichever state you’re in.”
The recent $3 million raise follows a $1.25 million capital raise in May 2021.
The seed funding round was led by Artesian Ventures and Canva backers Global Founders Capital.
The funding will be used to expand ChefPrep interstate: this includes Victoria where they will be partnering with CoLab Pantry.
ChefPrep’s dream is to be ‘Amazon for food.’
“If you’re a small merchant with an idea to sell dresses online, there is someone to support you across every step of that journey. But for food that doesn’t exist, unless you’re already at scale,” Mr Abulafia said.
“So all these great entrepreneurs, their businesses die on the vine because they don’t have that support. We want to do fulfilment and help restaurants at every step of their journey.”
Irit Jackson, 28th April 2022
