Farmer’s Fridge raises $30 million in series C funding round
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Farmer’s Fridge, the vending machine start-up that offers fresh salads, quinoa bowls, and healthy snacks, has closed a $30 million series C round of funding led by Innovation Endeavors, the venture-capital firm co-founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Farmer’s Fridge, the vending machine start-up that offers fresh salads, quinoa bowls, and healthy snacks, has closed a $30 million series C round of funding led by Innovation Endeavors, the venture-capital firm co-founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Other investors included: Cleveland Avenue, a venture-capital firm run by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson; DNS Capital, the investment office of Gigi Pritzker; Dom Capital, a food- and restaurant-focused venture-capital firm founded by the grandsons of the founder of Dominick’s grocery stores; and Hyde Park Angels, one of Chicago’s most prolific venture-capital firms focused on early-stage investments.
The cash infusion will allow Farmer’s Fridge to expand beyond Chicago and Milwaukee to other cities such as Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, as well as to move into a second region outside the Midwest, according to founder Luke Saunders. It will also enable the continuation of a hiring spree that has already boosted headcount to 130 from 80 at the beginning of 2018. Farmer’s Fridge expects to hit 200 employees by the end of next year, while doubling its engineering, product, and sales and marketing teams.
Founded in 2013, the company today has 186 “smart fridge” machines in locations ranging from Northwestern Memorial Hospital and O’Hare International Airport to Walgreens stores and small office buildings.