Tovala

Meal delivery service and oven manufacturer

TovalaFounded| 2015; 9 years ago (2015)

|

Headquarters| Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area served| United States
Founder(s)|

* David Rabie
* Bryan Wilcox

Industry| Meal kit
Employees| 375 (2024)[1]
URL| www.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.

## 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]

## 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]

* Companies portal
* Food portal

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Online food ordering services

Meal delivery|

* Bolt Food
* Coupang Eats
* Chowbus
* Deliveroo
* Delivery.com
* Delivery Hero
* Baedal Minjok
* Foodpanda
* Foodora
* Glovo
* Talabat
* Yemeksepeti
* PedidosYa
* DiDi Food
* DoorDash
* Wolt
* EatStreet
* ele.me
* Fantuan Delivery
* GoFood
* GrabFood
* iFood
* Just Eat Takeaway.com
* Grubhub
* OrderUp
* Seamless
* Tapingo
* Just Eat
* Menulog
* SkipTheDishes
* Meituan Waimai
* Pathao Foods
* PickMe
* Rappi
* ShopeeFood
* Square Eats
* Swiggy
* Uber Eats
* Postmates
* Waiter.com
* ASAP
* Delivery Dudes
* Yandex.Eda
* Zomato
* Blinkit

Meal kits|

* Blue Apron
* Goodfood
* Gousto
* HelloFresh
* Home Chef
* Purple Carrot
* Tovala

Online grocery delivery|

* Amazon Fresh
* Blinkit
* Chaldal.com
* Crowd Cow
* Favor
* FreshDirect
* Getir
* GoMart
* Gopuff
* Gorillas
* GrabMart
* Instacart
* JioMart
* Milkrun
* Ocado
* PC Express
* PickMe
* Robomart
* Samokat
* Shipt

Reservations|

* Eat App
* OpenTable
* Resy
* TheFork
* Bookatable
* Yelp

Defunct|

* Baidu Waimai
* Foodler
* Hello Curry
* Hungryhouse
* Munchery
* OrderAhead
* Plated

Software|

* Brightloom
* ChowNow
* OpenRest
* Slice
* Toast POS
* Upserve

* Category
* Food portal

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template