What Differentiates WoodSpoon from Other Food Delivery Services?

WoodSpoon, a New York City-based home-cooked food delivery service, recently raised $14 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the owner of Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, with participation from World Trade Ventures (WTV) and other individual investors. So, what makes WoodSpoon different from the plethora of other food delivery services?

The startup was founded in 2019 by Oren Saar and Merav Kalish Rozengarten, two Israelis that moved to the US, longing for the food they grew up eating. Rather than taking the traditional route of partnering with restaurants, the pair reached out to local home chefs and built a marketplace in which they could share their culture and food with others to generate income.

Now, WoodSpoon has accumulated tens of thousands of customers across New York City’s boroughs, with 50 percent month-over-month growth. Through its app or website, customers can order for on-demand delivery or schedule an order ahead of time. It offers dishes that run the gambit of world cuisine, with traditional meals from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and America. 

The new funding raises the company’s capital to $16 million, after it raised $2 million in December, 2020. With more funding secured, the company plans to accelerate growth through marketing and R&D, hire more engineers to continue developing its technology and expand into new markets, including major cities across the US, over the next year.

Related: How COVID-19 Popularized Contactless Food Delivery

As much as the pandemic catalyzed its launch, the idea of home-based cooks selling their food had been in the works for a year before the pandemic took effect. Whether it was opportune timing or plain old luck, WoodSpoon seized the chance it was given and launched in March 2020 in one of the first and most highly-impacted states by COVID-19.

While pandemic-related restaurant and foodservice closures helped boost WoodSpoon, the company was not created as a result of the pandemic. Like many office workers who always worked from home or made the transition during the pandemic, many chefs choose to do the same since they often have better hours and can make more money than working in restaurants.

Thus, the pandemic provided an opportunity for WoodSpoon to prove to its vast network of chefs that it would be worth their time to stay with the company after things reopen. While its service provides consumers with culturally diverse food, it also helps generate income for its 150 home chefs, including active professionals, immigrants and cooks. In order to be a partner with WoodSpoon, the company interviews each chef, inspects their kitchens and provides training to maintain consistent quality. The funding will also help alleviate the waitlist of hundreds of home chefs hoping to join the marketplace.

Meanwhile, according to the consultancy firm Research and Markets, the global online food delivery services market is forecasted to be $126.91 billion in 2021 and reach $192.16 billion in 2025. While Doordash, Uber Eats, Postmates and Grubhub are the current leaders in the space, WoodSpoon is a departure from ordinary, over-saturated food options.