Homecooked meals marketplace Shef raises $73.5M, plans nationwide expansion

Dive Brief:

Shef, a platform for homecooked meals, announced Wednesday plans to expand nationwide following its $73.5 million Series B round in 2022, which brought the company’s total funding to more than $100 million.
Currently available in 11 states and Washington, D.C., Shef on Wednesday started allowing cooks across the country to apply to sell their meals on the platform. Shef noted that it is also using its latest funding round to support product developments, including new preference and customization features for personalized e-commerce.
Shef’s expansion plans follow several states adopting laws and regulations that allow for the sale of certain types of homemade meals.

Dive Insight:

Shef is aiming to fill the market gap between home cooking and takeout by serving as the e-commerce provider that connects local chefs to people seeking homemade meal delivery.

“Demand for Shef has grown dramatically over the past four years – both from those interested in cooking on the platform to earn much-needed income, as well as consumers looking for more affordable, healthy ways to feed their families,” Shef co-founder and CEO Joey Grassia said in a statement.

The announcement said that all 50 states, as of 2022, now allow for the sale of certain types of homemade meals and that many states are clarifying laws in this area.

Shef’s Series B round was led by CRV, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Amex Ventures. The round included $7 million in venture debt. Other investors included more than a dozen celebrities and top company executives, including Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu, Nyesha Arrington of “Next Level Chef” and Poshmark founder Manish Chandra.

Shef said the funding will help thousands more local chefs monetize their culinary skills.

In June 2021, Shef announced it raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The prior summer, Shef brought in $8.8 million in seed funding.

Founded in 2019 by first-generation Americans Alvin Salehi and Grassia, Shef has expanded beyond its San Francisco Bay Area to new locations, such as Dallas last March. Shef noted that 85% of its “shefs” are women and 80% are people of color, and many are immigrants or refugees.

Last summer, Shef linked with online South Asian food marketplace Quicklly so that the latter’s customers in the Chicago, New York City and San Francisco Bay metropolitan areas could make scheduled orders for food from Shef.