INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Munchery, the on-demand food delivery startup, has shut down its operations in Los Angeles, New York and Seattle, the company announced
That means the teams from those cities are also being let go
In total, 257 people (about 30 percent of workforce) were let go, according to a Munchery spokesperson.
&We recognize the impact this will
have on the members of our team in those regions,& Munchery CEO James Beriker wrote on the company blog
&Our teams in each city have built their businesses from scratch and worked tirelessly to serve our customers and their communities
I am grateful for their unwavering commitment to Munchery mission and success
I truly wish that the outcome would have been different.&
With LA, New York and Seattle off the table, Munchery says it going to focus more
on its business in San Francisco, its first and largest market
This shift in operations will also enable Munchery to &achieve profitability on the near term, and build a long-term, sustainable
business.&
The last couple of years for Munchery has not gone very well, between scathing reports of the company wasting an average of 16
percent of the food it makes, laying off 30 employees and burning through most of the money it raised.
During that time, Munchery tried a
number of different strategies
Munchery, which began as a ready-to-heat meal delivery service, in 2015started deliveringmeal recipes and ingredientsfor people who want to
Then,Munchery launched an $8.95 a month subscriptionplan for people who order several times a month
In late 2016, Munchery opened up a shop inside a San Francisco BART station totry to bring in new business.
But it not just Munchery that
The on-demand food delivery business is tough in general
Over the last couple of years, a number of companies have shuttered due to the now well-known fact that the on-demand business is tough when
The most recent casualty was Sprig, which shut down last May, after raising $56.7 million in funding
Other casualties include Maple, Spoonrocket and India Ola.
Munchery has raised more than $120 million in capital from Menlo Ventures, Sherpa
In March, the company was reportedly seeking $15 million in funding to help keep its head above water.
