Nestle buys meal-delivery service for US$1.5 billion

Tong Van

2nd Nov 2020

Nestle US has made a stunning foray into the food-delivery sector by acquiring upmarket local brand Freshly for US$1.5 billion. 

“Adding Freshly to the portfolio accelerates our ability to capitalise on the new realities in the US food market and further positions Nestle to win in the future,” said Steve Presley, chairman and CEO at Nestle US. 

The FMCG giant acquired approximately 16 per cent of Freshly during its Series C funding round in 2017 as part of a strategy to evaluate and test the market. 

Founded in 2015, Freshly offers a weekly subscription service delivering fresh-prepared meals to customers’ doors across the US. According to Nestle, Freshly is shipping more than 1 million meals per week and its sales are estimated to reach US$430 million this year. 

“Convenience and nutrition are driving forces in the future of food, and our becoming a part of the world’s largest food company confirms that,” said Michael Wystrach, CEO at Freshly. “With Nestle, we will have access to resources, research and development, and years of experience that we can tap into to catapult our growth plans and move closer to our goal of being in every household in America.”

Laurent Freixe, Nestle CEO Zone Americas, said that the acquisition of Freshy will strengthen Nestle’s ability to deliver a wide variety of food to its consumers when and where they want.