DishDivvy Closes $1.3M Pre-Seed to Serve Authentic Home-Cooked Food on Demand

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DishDivvy, a marketplace that connects skilled home cooks to local customers, has raised $1.3M in pre-seed funding, led by 10X Venture with participation from early employees and senior executives of DoorDash, Etsy, Eaze, and MasterClass.

The estimated $6 billion home restaurant market sits within the larger $1 trillion restaurant industry and is poised to grow quickly. The propagation of the passion and gig economy, accelerated by the likes of Uber, Airbnb, and DoorDash, has made people more attuned to the notion of monetizing their skills to become their own boss. DishDivvy's home cooks are able to tap into that entrepreneurial desire to meet consumers' growing demand for authentic, local food that is fresh and affordable.

"Food delivery 1.0 was all about convenience, but that doesn't cut it anymore," said Ani Torosyan, Co-Founder and CEO of DishDivvy. "Consumers also want food that is unique and healthy, and tapping into our talented local home cooks solves that need in a community-focused way."

Unlike asset-heavy models in the space that need to cover storage facilities, delivery fleets, and multiple employees, DishDivvy's tech stack enables efficient asset utilization with limited additional overhead costs. Its innovative seller tools empower home cooks to create and serve ready-to-eat, freshly prepared food on-demand through pickup or delivery.

"DishDivvy is reimagining the future of food by providing a platform that champions the individual culinary creator to turn their unique cooking skills into turnkey home restaurants, all the while helping their surrounding communities eat better," said Prahar Shah, an early employee at DoorDash who is currently a managing director of 10X Venture and member of DishDivvy's board.

While the pandemic has been a catalyst for growth in the home kitchen operations space, DishDivvy has been helping pave the path for home cooks since 2018, when CEO and Co-Founder Ani Torosyan helped lead advocacy efforts for the passage of AB 626, the California Homemade Food Act. Since then, legislation around home kitchen operations has progressed considerably, with 44 home cooking bills across 29 states introduced in the last legislative session alone.

"From the moment we founded the company, we knew cooks would be at the center of every early product decision," says Davit Avetisyan, DishDivvy CTO and Co-Founder. "Since then, we've been working hard, shipping innovative features and functionality that help cooks take care of the 'boring' business stuff so that they can focus on what they love: their culinary craft."

"I discovered DishDivvy a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic when there was so much uncertainty about the future of restaurants or even my safety working in one," said DishDivvy HomeCook Vanessa Du. "As a fine-dining chef for years and an Asian-American immigrant, I knew I wanted to bring high-quality authentic food of my heritage to local diners but didn't know exactly how. DishDivvy has helped me launch this dream, and I feel so blessed to have found them."

DishDivvy is currently available throughout California and is actively onboarding cooks in Austin, Chicago, Charlotte, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. DishDivvy will use the funds to accelerate expansion in key markets by investing in product development, operations and team growth. 

To learn more, visit https://dishdivvy.com/ or download the app for Apple or Android.

About DishDivvy
DishDivvy is a platform that empowers home-based culinary creators to leverage their skillset, coupled with the resources of their home kitchen, to share delicious home cooked meals with their local community. Based in Los Angeles and serving communities throughout California, DishDivvy connects people with authentic, homemade food available on-demand through pick-up or delivery.

SOURCE DishDivvy