Campbell’s, Chef’d Partnership A Recipe For Success

A new three-year partnership between Campbell Soup Company and online meal marketplace Chef’d will be serving up success for both companies. The two have complementary visions of how the food economy is evolving and what companies have to do to survive.

“Campbell’s outlook on the future of food and e-commerce aligns perfectly with the Chef’d vision of the future of online grocery,” said Kyle Ransford, CEO at Chef’d. “Both Campbell and Chef’d believe in continuing to drive innovation in the new food economy, particularly around consumer customization and e-commerce solutions.”

Campbell announced Wednesday (May 24) that it would be investing $10 million to help Chef’d grow its e-commerce capabilities, making it the company’s largest strategic investor and earning it a seat on the board of directors.

Chef’d partners with name-brand chefs and more than 125 fitness, health and wellness brands to offer customers thousands of meal solutions that they can order a la carte, no membership fees or subscriptions required.

Chef’d will provide Campbell with new insights into e-commerce business models, data analytics, and shopper behaviors, pushing the classic soup company forward in the new food economy – not that Campbell isn’t already moving that way. The soup king has been hustling to become the gold standard, actively building a network of innovative partners to help it define the future of food.

“We are fully committed to growing our e-commerce business with an emphasis on bold moves and rapid pace,” said Mark Alexander, President, Americas Simple Meals and Beverages at Campbell. “We are firm believers in building relationships with partners that share our vision while enabling us to rapidly learn, evolve and test new capabilities.”

Campbell has recently invested in a number of food start-ups, including Acre Venture Partners, Habit, and the Soulfull Project. The company anticipates that food and beverage e-commerce sales will grow to $66 billion by 2021.