Mark Bittman Joins Purple Carrot As Chief Innovation Officer

BOSTON, Nov. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Purple Carrot, the first whole food, plant-based meal kit delivery service, today announces Mark Bittman has joined the company full-time as partner and Chief Innovation Officer. Bittman is the former New York Times op-ed columnist and best-selling author best known for reframing the national conversation about food and his lifelong crusade to change the way Americans eat.

"It's time to put words into action," says Bittman. "I've been writing about the benefits of part-time veganism for years, and my work at Purple Carrot will help more and more people see and participate in the benefits of this way of eating. Really, it's the New American Diet. Short of my going into someone's home each night myself to help them make dinner, this is about as direct a way as I can imagine to help them answer the question; 'What are we going to eat tonight?' Purple Carrot takes the guesswork out of eating well."

Bittman will be responsible for creating the company's recipes each week, providing thought leadership around the value of plant-based eating, and working with the meal kit industry at large to make packaging and sourcing more sustainable. This role will take advantage of his extensive knowledge of the food industry and global network of revered chefs, restaurateurs, farmers and innovative thinkers.

"I've been a fan of Mark's for years, admiring how he has been teaching millions of people how to cook better. Over the past couple of years, I've been really drawn to his focus on plant-based eating, and it aligns so perfectly with what we are doing", said Andy Levitt, CEO of Purple Carrot. "Our goal is not just to be a provider of plant-based meal kits; our intention is to be a leading voice supporting a food movement that helps drive meaningful and lasting change. We want people to understand now more than ever just how closely the food we eat, our health and our environment are connected, and are in many ways interdependent. And Mark is in the perfect position to help us do just that."

Levitt founded and launched Purple Carrot a year ago as the first plant-based meal kit company, with a goal of promoting a "New American Diet," one that is healthy, honest and humane. Seasonal ingredients are sourced from responsible U.S. producers, pre-measured, packed using state-of-the-art materials and supplies, and incorporated into easy to cook recipes now being developed and tested by Bittman and his team.

Today, Purple Carrot also announces an expansion to the West Coast. With this expansion Purple Carrot now services more than 70% of the country. The company is also launching a new subscription service and has added a new three-night meal plan for two people in addition to its current two-night family plan for four people.

To date, Purple Carrot has raised $1 million from angel investors and is currently closing out a $3 million seed round. The company intends to initiate a Series A financing early in 2016.

For more information on Purple Carrot, please visit www.thepurplecarrot.com.  

About Purple Carrot
Founded in 2014, Purple Carrot is the first plant-based meal kit delivery service on a mission to establish the New American Diet – one that is honest, healthy and humane. The company makes it easy to create healthy, delicious plant-based meals at home each week, shipping all of the pre-measured ingredients with easy-to-follow instructions, with recipes developed and tested by a world-class team of chefs. The company's goal is to help customers understand more than ever how food, health and our environment are so closely connected. Learn more at www.thepurplecarrot.com.

SOURCE Purple Carrot

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https://www.thepurplecarrot.com