NEW YORK — Splendid Spoon, a women-owned and -operated national meal delivery service specializing in ready-made plant-based soups, bowls and smoothies, has closed a $12 million funding round led by Swedish investor Nicoya. Additional investors who contributed include Danone Manifesto Ventures, Torch Capital, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Rent the Runway co-founder Jennifer Fleiss and Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, founders of Tasty Bite. Both Torch and Ohanian contributed to previous Splendid Spoon rounds.
The new round of funding will be used to scale Splendid Spoon’s core product line, launch new products, categories and meal programs and to continue growing the team with a priority on hiring and amplifying diverse voices in the food industry.
“We are thrilled to join the Nicoya portfolio and to be a part of their movement to transform the global food system and create meaningful impact for people, planet and health,” said Nicole Centeno, founder and co-CEO of Splendid Spoon. “Their mission-driven approach and unrivaled expertise in brand strategy and foodtech align with our goals to scale and innovate, with our customers at the forefront,” continued Elise Densborn, Splendid Spoon co-CEO.
Nicole Centeno founded Splendid Spoon in 2013, motivated by the challenges that being pregnant and working a demanding full-time job had on her ability to live a healthy lifestyle. She knew there had to be an easier way to eat delicious, nourishing foods even when short on time (and sleep). Committed to coming up with a sustainable solution for others like her, she began attending culinary school at night and ultimately created a line of vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free organic soups and smoothies that, for the customer, required no meal prep or cooking. She began selling her meals at farmers markets and pop-ups in Brooklyn, and delivering them to colleagues on her lunch break. Demand skyrocketed. She received her first large-scale purchase order from Fresh Direct in 2013 and rolled out nationally in 2015.
Since then, Centeno has led Splendid Spoon’s adoption of a direct-to-consumer subscription-based model and hired co-CEO Elise Densborn in 2018, who joined the company after being a loyal customer for many years. The two have expanded the menu to over 50 plant-based no-prep smoothies, soups, and grain bowls, in addition to multi-day meal plans and an On Demand shop, which allows customers to try the meals without a subscription. Splendid Spoon is available in every state in the Continental U.S., has doubled its growth rate since 2020 and has over 20,000 subscribers to date.
“Splendid Spoon has emerged as an innovator in the healthy eating category by efficiently streamlining the business model and connecting with its avid customer base,” said Christopher Slim, CEO at Nicoya. “Nicole’s vision a decade ago, to simplify plant-based eating for everyday Americans, is as important as ever, and we’re excited to take an active role in Splendid Spoon’s growth.”
