Recipe kit start-up Simply Cook is targeting £600,000 in a crowdfunding campaign to expand its marketing efforts and launch a distribution partnership with Ocado.

The business sells each box of recipe cards, spice blends and marinades for £8.99 through its online subscription service with customers adding between three and five fresh items to cook each of the four meals.

Simply Cook founder Oli Ashness, who previously worked in venture capital, said the business now ships more than 50,000 kits each month.

It has agreed a listing with Ocado to sell its kits and is working on creating a digital, shopping aisle on the online grocer’s site to allow its customers to buy the extra fresh ingredients at the same time.

“If we seamlessly link via our shopping lists to a company like Ocado, we have an opportunity to elevate our brand and create a fantastic end-to-end experience for the customer,” Ashness said.

More than £465,000 has been raised so far from 326 investors on Crowdcube, including £250,000 from venture capital firm Episode 1, which already backs the business.

Simply Cook is planning to give away a 9.1% stake in the crowdfunding campaign, valuing itself at £6m.

Ashness said the business is expanding rapidly, with average quarter-on-quarter growth of 115% since launching in the summer of 2013. Sales are projected to grow from just more than £600,000 to £2.4m this year and £25m by 2020.

The business sees itself as a rival to Schwartz, Knorr and the fajita kits sold by Old El Paso. Ashness added if the subscription business could achieve a 3% penetration in the UK market then sales would balloon to above £100m.

Source

Edward Devlin

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