SimplyCook is a UK subscription recipe service that delivers recipe cards plus compact "ingredients kits"—herbs, spices, sauces and other flavourings—rather than full fresh ingredients. By avoiding perishable fresh goods the company says it achieves better margins and broader mass-market appeal compared with fresh meal-kit players. Founder and CEO Oli Ashness highlights that flavour products are used by over 50% of consumers weekly versus fresh meal kits serving roughly 0.25–0.5% of UK evening meals. SimplyCook has expanded beyond subscriptions to launch recipe kits in physical retail, pursuing a hybrid online/offline model. The company plans to invest in technology and sales & marketing to drive growth across the U.K. and internationally. It expects the investments to provide working capital for the retail business and to fund operational technology improvements over the next two years. SimplyCook offers a subscription service that sends recipe cards and small ‘‘ingredients kits’’ — herbs, spices, sauces and other flavourings — so customers supply fresh produce themselves. Boxes are delivered fortnightly or monthly through the letterbox and the service is positioned as a lower-cost alternative to full meal-kit rivals. The company charges £8.99 to cook four new meals using its kits. Founder and CEO Oli Ashness, formerly a VC at Draper Esprit, says the model focuses on recipe discovery and sourcing hard-to-find ingredients in small quantities. SimplyCook’s main fixed cost is a picking-and-packing centre adjacent to its primary supplier. The startup says it has raised a modest amount of funding to date compared with competitors. Recent funding will be used to increase marketing and to invest in recommendation technology and its mobile app. The CEO expects to overtake HelloFresh’s U.K. customer numbers at some point this year. SimplyCook offers a subscription that sends recipe cards and small ‘ingredients kits’—herbs, spices, sauces and other flavouring components—so customers add the fresh ingredients from their regular grocery shop. The service positions itself as a lower-cost, more flexible alternative to full fresh-ingredient meal-kit rivals by avoiding fresh food delivery logistics. A monthly subscription costs £10 for four meals, each serving two people. Founder Oli Ashness, previously a VC at DFJ Esprit, frames the product as a food-discovery and convenience service to help people cook new meals more often. The company says its focus on high-quality flavour components and 20-minute recipes reduces waste and the need to commit to multiple meals per week. SimplyCook plans to use new capital to drive expansion and further develop marketing initiatives.

Total raised

$10M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jan 2019