Coming on the heels of its multimillion-dollar acquisition by HelloFresh, Chicago-based ready-to-eat meal startup Factor75 is expanding its footprint with a new production facility in suburban Aurora.
The 150,000-square-foot building, which Factor75 purchased in October, was revealed Thursday in an unveiling event at the site. The facility, at 2372 W. Indian Trail, opened Dec. 15 and is producing over 200,000 meals a week.
Factor75, founded in 2013 by Nick Wernimont and led by CEO Mike Apostal, offers a fully-prepared meal delivery service featuring healthy, chef-inspired options. Offering dietitian-designed weekly selections, Factor75's meals are delivered to users' doorsteps and ready to eat in minutes.
In November, Factor75 announced it was being acquired by Berlin-based meal kit company HelloFresh in a deal worth up to $277 million. HelloFresh agreed to pay $177 million for Factor75 upon the close of the deal, and another $100 million in performance-based earn-outs and management incentives, the company said at the time of the announcement.
Factor75 declined to disclose 2020 revenue, but at the time of acquisition, Factor75 said it was expecting to do around $100 million in 2020 revenue. The company raised less than $16 million in outside capital. Its investors include Listen Ventures, Bluestein Ventures, Marcy Venture Partners and Hyde Park Angels.
Factor75 is operating as a standalone business under HelloFresh and employs more than 400 people, 250 of which work at the Aurora site. Apostal said that Factor75 opened the new facility because it had outgrown its others as the business grew.
“It started from a need for capacity,” he said. “Our buildings tend to be highly-specialized, given our type of operation where you have separation of raw and cooked [food], you have ambient temperature, as well as cold storage.”
Besides the new Aurora facility, Factor75 has three production and fulfilment facilities in Chicagoland and a corporate office in Batavia, Illinois. Factor75 says it is shipping meals to customers in 48 states.
“We take the guesswork out of eating healthy,” Apostal said. “We are providing menus for every dietary need and we make individuals’ lives easier as they work towards their goals.”
