| Munchery Inc. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Fate: | Bankruptcy |
| Location City: | San Francisco, California |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Industry: | Hospitality |
| Key People: | James Beriker (CEO)[1] |
| Founders: | Tri Tran Conrad Chu[2] |
Munchery Inc. was an online food ordering and meal delivery service that served parts of San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City.[3] The company shut down abruptly on January 21, 2019.[4] It was valued at $300 million.[5] The website currently relaunched as a recipes-only website.
Munchery was a conglomeration of chefs who offered continually changing menus to users. Chefs chose their dishes and sourced ingredients, and users rated the meals. Meals could be ordered up to 6 p.m. the same day or a few days in advance. A fleet of drivers delivered the dinners within a chosen one-hour window between 5 and 9 p.m.. The chilled food needed to be reheated before serving.[6] After trying the meals, diners could post reviews online, and they could also directly message chefs through the site.
Munchery was founded in 2010 in San Francisco, California.[7] [8]
In 2015 the company raised $85 million in Series C funding and was speculated to be valued at $300 million, though a company spokesperson did not confirm that number.[9] [10]
In 2016, the company launched a corporate lunch delivery program.[11] James Beriker became CEO, taking the place of co-founder Tri Tran.[12]
On October 2, 2020, Rolliyo, Inc., a DE corporation doing business as ("DBA") Munchery.com, sent an email to Munchery, Inc's email list announcing that "Munchery is back (as a recipe site)."[13]
In late 2018 the company laid off 30 percent of its employees. In January 2019 Munchery abruptly ceased all operations. In a March 2019 bankruptcy declaration, the company claimed assets between $1 and $10 million with liabilities totaling $28.5 million in secured debt to lenders as well as $6 million in unsecured debt to its 230 vendors and suppliers.[5] In all, investors — Greycroft, Sherpa Capital, Menlo Ventures, E.ventures, Cota Capital, and M13 — sank $125 million in the company, with an $87 million round in 2015.[14]
“To be honest, it was a house of cards,” said an anonymous well-known chef who worked at Munchery for two years.[15]
In May 2019 the bankrupt company sold its 70,000-square-foot South San Francisco headquarters for $5 million. Munchery's CEO James Beriker planned to pay himself a $250,000 “success fee” for the sale of the company's headquarters and other assets.[16]