Fresh Bowl Raises $2.1M to Launch Zero-Waste Food Brand
Funding Round Led by Betaworks and New Ground Ventures with participation from Tuesday Capital, Bling Capital and Mana Ventures
Fresh Bowl, a tech-enabled food brand building the first closed-loop system building the first zero-packaging waste option for on-the-go meals, today announces a $2.1 million seed funding round co-led by Betaworks Ventures and New Ground Ventures, with participation from Tuesday and Mana Ventures. They were joined by additional, mission-aligned investors and Bling Capital, who led the company’s pre-seed round in November 2018. Together, Fresh Bowl and their investment partners aim to expand the brand’s reach into the $27B grab-n-go market and lead a new frontier in zero-waste consumer packaged goods (CPG).
Fresh Bowl launched in July 2019 with a mission to clean up the way we eat on the go. They provide meals in reusable glass containers that are purchased at vending kiosks and can be returned for credit towards the customers’ next purchase. The loyalty program allows Fresh Bowl to develop a direct relationship with customers and provides insights to better cater to individual consumer behaviors. The company utilizes a tech-based, SMS communication platform that facilitates frictionless returns and feedback.
“With the ready-made-meals market set to top $143 billion in 2023 and 45 percent of landfill waste coming from food and food products, Fresh Bowl has an amazing opportunity to change the way people eat and reduce packaging waste,” said Zach Lawless, Co-Founder and CEO of Fresh Bowl. “We are combining technology with a unique distribution system, so that everyone has the chance to eat well while reducing waste. This funding round confirms our thesis that people want high-quality, fresh meals on the go while helping contribute to sustainability efforts.”
The company has developed custom vending machines to distribute fresh, delicious food products and accept the returned, used containers. The machines allow Fresh Bowl to control their own distribution and tightly manage inventory and quality control. The company is building a network of machines in high foot traffic locations throughout New York City to make it convenient for consumers to return their packaging and resupply on everything from salads, bowls, snacks and drinks. Customers currently return 85% of their jars, including 75% at busy MTA subway locations.
“We’re beyond thrilled with the response to Fresh Bowl so far. Our sales, rate of return, and customer feedback prove the market demand for reusable goods and we’re excited to be leading the space,” said Paul Christophe, Co-Founder, and CTO of Fresh Bowl. “In the coming months, we will add to our user experience, increase our reach with 100 new kiosks, and experiment with different return initiatives.”
“We’ve been diving deep into conversational software for years, and continue to be bullish,” said Betaworks Senior Associate, Julie Zhang,“Fresh Bowl’s value proposition is simple — with a few messages on their smartphone, consumers gain access to quality, fresh food without sacrificing sustainability. We’re excited about the team’s ability to leverage tech, data, and a direct consumer relationship to reimagine on-the-go, zero-waste food purchasing.”
The funding will enable Fresh Bowl to pursue becoming a household name at the helm of zero-waste eating, expanding their kiosk distribution network, adding to their mission-driven team, and building technology that makes it easy for customers to create rewarding, sustainable habits. Fresh Bowl’s seasonal menu features twelve items that are currently available at five kiosks in NYC and the company plans to grow to more than one hundred kiosks during the next eighteen months.
“Our primary goal is to offer delicious food that makes customers come back for more,” said Chloe Vichot, Co-Founder and COO. “If we succeed, we have the opportunity to do something very special in our communities to seamlessly ingrain sustainability into the daily habits of millions of people.”
For more information, please visit myfreshbowl.com.
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About the Company
Fresh Bowl was founded in New York in 2018 by Zach Lawless, Chloe Vichot and Paul Christophe. The company has five locations in NYC, including public machines at Fulton Center and the Starrett-Lehigh (26th Street) building, with committed deals to expand with large partners.
About the Fresh Bowl
Fresh Bowl is a food brand that empowers a new form of consumer behavior. The company is disrupting the $143B ready-made-meals market with delicious, made-from-scratch meals packaged in reusable containers. The products are delivered directly to the consumer and collected via a network of automated, zero-waste kiosks. The mission is to place Fresh Bowl kiosks in office buildings, transit hubs, large multifamily buildings, college campuses and retail centers to create an infrastructure that enables the world’s first closed-loop, zero-packaging waste food brand.