Tovala

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Tovala
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area servedUnited States
Founder(s)
  • David Rabie
  • Bryan Wilcox
IndustryMeal kit
Employees375 (2024)[1]
URLwww.tovala.com

Tovala is a meal-kit and oven company based in Chicago, Illinois. It sells a series of smart ovens that combine baking, broiling, air frying, and steam cooking and which can be controlled by an app. It also offers a weekly meal-delivery service designed to work with its ovens.

History[edit]

Tovala was co-founded in 2015 by CEO David Rabie and CTO Bryan Wilcox. It won a venture challenge at the University of Chicago.[2] Initially named Maestro and nicknamed the "Keurig for food," it launched with a Kickstarter in January 2016 that raised $256,000.[3] That year, it was also accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator program.[4][1][5]

Tovala launched to the general public in 2017. It also raised a $9.2 million Series A round that year, led by Origin Ventures, and acquired the Chicago-based food-delivery service Radish.[6][7][8][9] In 2020, the company raised a $20 million Series B round of capital, led by Finistere Ventures and including Comcast Ventures, OurCrowd, Rich Products Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and the University of Chicago.[10][11] It added a $30 million Series C round in 2021, led by Left Lane Capital.[12][13] As of 2024, it has raised a total of $68.6 million and employs about 375 people.[1]

The company has released several generations of its countertop smart ovens, most recently the Tovala Smart Oven and the Tovala Smart Oven Pro, which includes steam cooking.[14][15] They have ranged in price from $300 to $400, which substantial discounts for customers who also sign up for the company's meal-kit service.[16]

Tovala ovens have a scanner for barcodes and QR codes. Its meal kits come with QR codes that program how the ovens cook the meal; the barcode scanner can be used on packaged goods from grocery stores.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Tovala: A smart-oven-paired subscription meal service". Y Combinator. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  2. ^ McLean, Tessa (29 May 2015). "Maestro, the Keurig for food, wins top prize at New Venture Challenge | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  3. ^ Rekdal, Andreas (23 December 2016). "Dishing up dinner and fixing democracy: These were our favorite launches in 2016 | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  4. ^ Rekdal, Andreas (18 January 2016). "Maestro, 'the Keurig for food,' rebrands as Tovala | Built In Chicago". Built in Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. ^ Rekdal, Andreas (7 March 2017). "The "Keurig for food" joins YC class of 2016 | Built In Chicago". Built in Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. ^ Mohan, Pavithra (18 December 2018). "Smart oven startup Tovala just got a cash infusion of $9.2 million". Fast Company. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  7. ^ Rekdal, Andreas (18 December 2017). "Tovala just served up a $9.2M Series A | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Tovala Raises $9.2M Series A Round to Fund Expansion". The Spoon. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  9. ^ Rekdal, Andreas (14 November 2017). "Tovala acquires Radish, bolstering food delivery credentials". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  10. ^ "This 'smart oven' company raised $20 million to help people cook at home". Fast Company. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  11. ^ Tepper, Nona (2 June 2020). "Tovala Raises $20M to Install Its Smart Oven in More Home Kitchens | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  12. ^ Glover, Ellen (5 February 2021). "Tovala Raises Another $30M to Grow Its Meal Delivery, Food Tech Business | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  13. ^ Rabie, David (13 July 2021). "Even with Y Combinator pedigree we initially struggled with fundraising. That was a blessing in disguise". Fast Company. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Tovala - Smart Oven. Fresh Meal Delivery Service. 1 Minute of Prep". tovala.com. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ Hines, Michael (13 November 2018). "Tovala just launched a redesigned version of its smart oven | Built In Chicago". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Tovala - Smart Oven. Fresh Meal Delivery Service. 1 Minute of Prep". tovala.com. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

External links[edit]

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