EzCater, one of the largest corporate catering companies in the world, announced Wednesday it is now valued at a whopping $1.6 billion thanks to a fresh $100 million raise. This “Series D-2” round, which is an extension of the $150 million Series D the startup received back in 2019, was led by VC superstar SoftBank Vision Fund 2 — indicating that catered food will remain a central part of work despite the pandemic.
“Food for work is very different from consumer delivery and requires a range of solutions to meet the different needs of each business,” Angela Du, an investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement. “We believe ezCater has established the perfect product/market fit, with its deep expertise and its purpose-built corporate foodtech platform. We’re excited to help ezCater extend its lead in this massive and fast growing segment.”
To that end, the unicorn will use this money to scale its business and grow its team, with dozens of open tech positions available now at its Boston headquarters.
It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, though. Like a lot of players in the food and hospitality space, ezCater had a difficult time adjusting to the realities of the pandemic, with revenue plunging some 85 percent, according to the company. It quickly noticed an uptick in orders for individually packaged items, though, so it worked with restaurants to call out those items on their menus. Eventually, ezCater launched its Relish program, offering companies individually packaged meals from a rotating list of favorites to offer their employees in the office.
In April of 2020, the startup also rolled out its Feed the Frontline initiative, which provided a way for people to donate meals from local restaurants to frontline healthcare workers. In the end, ezCater wound up sending about 35,000 meals to hospitals nationwide, the company told Built In in March.
Since that initial stumble, ezCater says it has rapidly gone from feeding one-off meetings to offering full corporate food solutions, expanding its target market 10x. These days, the startup is exceeding its pre-pandemic revenue run rate — a success story it says would not have happened without its ability to “meet the changing needs of today’s workplaces.”
“Food for work is bigger and more demanding than ever,” co-founder and CEO Stefania Mallett said in a statement. “Employees now expect food at work, and companies need solutions that are flexible and scalable, with business-grade customer service an absolute must. We are food for work. It’s all we do, and all we’ve ever done. This funding accelerates our growth and furthers our mission to feed every workplace.”
