Dublin-based DropChef secures €2m to expand meal kit delivery service

9 Nov 2020

From left: DropChef co-founders Ryan Scott, Roman Grogan and Sam O’Byrne. Image: Alice Ward

VentureWave Capital has confirmed a €2m investment in DropChef, a Dublin-based start-up that delivers meal kits for cooking at home.

DropChef is looking to emulate the success of companies such as BlueApron and HelloFresh following new investment. VentureWave Capital announced today (9 November) that it has invested €2m in DropChef to help drive its expansion into new markets.

Founded in 2015 by Ryan Scott, Roman Grogan and Sam O’Byrne, Dublin-based DropChef delivers ingredients for tailored meals to homes around Ireland through an online ordering platform. All ingredients are delivered in the exact quantities needed for cooking the recipes it sends, which the company claims helps cut down on food and packaging waste.

Analysts have estimated that the meal kit delivery service market will be worth almost $20bn globally by 2027, and this sector has been given a recent boost due to restrictions imposed because of Covid-19. Following the first quarter of this year, DropChef said its revenue increased by 171pc.

‘Phenomenal news’

“This is phenomenal news for our team and our customers and suppliers; it will do so much for the business by allowing us to invest further in the customer experience, technology and our sustainability strategy,” said Scott, who is CEO of DropChef.

“It will ensure we further our mission to allow us to help more people to live a more healthy and sustainable life, we will be able to make a whole host of improvements to the product that will be better for the customer and the planet.”

Co-founder and COO Grogan added: “We are continuing to see further growth, and it is now very clear that this is a permanent shift in the psyche of the consumer who now, having ordered online, is much more likely to repeat this behaviour more frequently.”

VentureWave Capital managing partner, Kieran McLoughlin, said his firm’s investment will meet a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in terms of health, sustainability and education.

“We will be measuring and reporting on our social impact alongside the financial growth of the company,” he said. “Impact investing is all about doing well while doing good, which is what we aim to achieve with DropChef.”

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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