Sun Basket is a San Francisco-based subscription meal delivery service that ships members fresh organic and sustainable ingredients and recipes every month, allowing them to cook their own meals. It is part of the meal kit industry.
History
Sun Basket was founded in 2014 by San Francisco chef Justine Kelly, tech entrepreneur Adam Zbar, Tyler MacNiven and George Nachtrieb. Kelly had appeared on Iron Chef America, and had been cooking in San Francisco for 25 years. Zbar previously founded social analytics platform Tap11, which he sold to the founders of YouTube. By May 2015, the company was serving customers in eight states. In May 2016, the company raised $11.62M in series A funding, led by PivotNorth Capital, Baseline Ventures, Vulcan Capital Management, Tyler Florence Group and several others. and in July, the company raised $15 million in series B funding. By July, the company had expanded its operations by opening an East Coast distribution center, and announced plans to open a third. The company grew from 10 employees from its 2014 launch to 400 in July 2016. In February 2017, the company announced a $15 million Series C funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and several others. In May, the company announced a Series C-2 round, led by Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of food giant Unilever. The funding was earmarked to increase its coverage area by opening a distribution center in the Midwest, to go along with their two existing centers in the West and East Coast. In January 2018, the company secured a $57.9 million series D and debt segment funding round, and also announced expansion with two new distribution centers in the Midwest and East Coast. In March, the company opened a 190,000 sq. ft distribution center in New Jersey. In May, the company announced it was working with the American Diabetes Association to introduce diabetes-friendly recipes. In October, the company's meals received the American Heart Association's Heart-Check certification. In November, the company announced that it was working with the American Cancer Society to create meals that met that organization's health guidelines. In May 2019, Sun Basket raised $30 million in Series E funding, including an investment from Unilever Ventures.
Service
The company serves customers who have strict dietary restrictions, offering paleo, gluten-free and vegetarian options, among others. It is one of the few meal kit companies that is USDA - Certified Organic. The ingredients are sourced from California farms.
In response to industry concerns about wasteful packaging in meal kits, the company set a goal to produce zero waste packaging, and developed recyclable insulation liners using recyclable PET fiber; ice packs made from GMO cotton and water; and fully compostable ingredient bags.
Operations
The company is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates three regional distribution centers, in San Jose, CA, St. Louis, Missouri, and Westampton, New Jersey. The St. Louis center is in a cave.
