Fresh Del Monte Invests $4 Million in Plant-Based Meal Company Purple Carrot
Fresh Del Monte has invested $4 million in plant-based meal kit company Purple Carrot. Purple Carrot plans to use the investment to enhance its supply chain and develop retail channels for its product.
Purple Carrot, which launched in 2014, delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and accompanying recipes to individuals’ homes, facilitating the preparation of plant-based meals. According to CrunchBase, this investment brings Purple Carrot’s total funding to $10 million.
According to Purple Carrot founder and CEO Andy Levitt, the equity investment is a match made in heaven.
“With their entire remarkable infrastructure, Fresh Del Monte has very little direct-to-consumer connection,” Levitt told AdWeek. “That’s why the fit with Purple Carrot and our e-commerce consumer business model with access to our health-conscious subscriber base makes so much sense.”
“Purple Carrot has tremendous growth momentum in the fast-growing plant-based food segment with a well-known brand and an authentic connection with its customers,” Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Del Monte, said in a press release.
“We believe there will be significant opportunities for our teams to create increased value through product mix and channel expansion.”
Abu-Ghazaleh also noted that the investment fulfills the company’s commitment to “get healthful, fresh fruit and vegetable offerings in as many channels as possible.”
Early last year, PurpleCarrot announced a partnership with the multimedia brand built around the documentary “Forks Over Knives,” featuring special recipes that follow the food-as-medicine philosophy of the critically acclaimed 2011 film. In late 2016, through a partnership with Whole Food Market, the brand made its meal kits available in brick-and-mortar stores as well as via online delivery.
Purple Carrot tells Market Watch that plant-based dining has grown to a $25 billion business; meal kits are expected to grow from a $1.6 billion industry in 2016 to $35 billion by 2025, according to the company.
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