Contxto – Last month, healthy food delivery startup Liv Up from Brazil closed an enormous R$90 million (approximately US$22 million) investment round led by ThornTree Capital Partners. Joining the U.S. fund was KaszeK Ventures, Spectra, as well as Endeavor Catalyst.
This is KaszeK Ventures’ second time investing in Liv Up. In 2017, it contributed R$1.7 million (about US$416,000) to the food company. Other past investors included iFood founder Patrick Sigrist and Rapiddo CEO Guilerme Bonifacio. Overall, these investments are helping the startup grow rather quickly.
“We are growing very fast, tripling the size of the company every year,” said Liv Up President and Co-Founder, Victor Santos.
Plans
Expecting to invoice over US$24 million this year, new capital injections will reportedly go towards expanding Liv Up’s portfolio to include school lunches as well as baby food. These new offerings come from customer feedback, particularly mothers in search of healthy meals for their children.
“We are building a brand focused on the opinion and needs of our customers,” said Santos.
Founded in São Paulo, today Liv Up operates in 30 Brazilian cities, most of which are in the South and Southeast. Other plans involve expanding its geographic presence across Brazil and the rest of Latin America.
For next quarter, Liv Up anticipates to launch in Northeast Brazil in cities such as Recife, Fortaleza and Salvador. By the end of the year, it also expects to operate in Florianopolis and Vitoria.
Moreover, Liv Up expects to debut a restaurant service for delivery by the end of 2019. This will reportedly begin with three units in the mega city of São Paulo before the prepared food service moves elsewhere. What this means is that food will come fresh and ready to consume.
Part of this will also entail offering more variety in salads and beverages. In terms of pricing, meals range between approximately US$4 and US$7 with snacks starting at about US$1.
Organic products
Organic and natural food options are a huge priority for Liv Up’s business model. Proving this, about 70 percent of the vegetables in dishes have this classification thanks to collaborations it has with Brazilian farmers.
“We have 20 partner families that produce over 30 tons of organic ingredients every month,” said Santos.
Part of the foodtech’s operations also pertains to technology that doesn’t require using any preservatives or additives. To accomplish this standard, it uses a deep freezing process to conserve food that doesn’t tarnish quality, flavor or texture.
-JA
