Tovala

Tovala is a Chicago-based meal kit delivery platform that delivers ready-to-cook, chef-crafted meal kits. The meal kits require less than a minute of prep time and can be prepared by simply scanning a barcode using the accompanying smart oven solution offered by the company. The customers can select from a range of meal plans in the company’s rotating menu and get four to 16 meals delivered weekly. As of February 2021, the company had shipped over three million meals and offered more than 400 meal options in its rotating weekly menu that features options like premium meals and customized meals.

The company’s Wi-Fi-connected smart oven can be purchased via the platform and can be used to prepare multi-step meals by simply scanning the barcode of a recipe. The oven comes equipped with five different cooking functions (steam, bake, broil, toast, reheat).

In 2019, the company partnered with LG to integrate its Scan-to-Cook technology in select LG smart ovens, allowing Tovala meal barcodes to be scanned via the LG ThinQ app. The partnership further extended to include Tovala meals for purchase in the LG ThinQ app.

In February 2021, the company raised USD 30 million in a Series C funding round led by Left Lane Capital with participation from previous investors Finistere Ventures, Comcast Ventures, OurCrowd, Origin Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and Joe Mansueto. This funding round brings the company’s total funding to over USD 50 million. The funding was leveraged for opening a new production facility, expanding the team, and improving the customer experience.