Techstars alum Local Crate has raised $1.4 million in seed funding in a round co-led by several Midwestern venture capital firms, the company announced in a release. The startup plans to use the funding to expand its local food distribution platform into Illinois.
Minneapolis-based Local Crate works with local chefs and farmers to create meal kits with ingredients and recipes from the region. The company also aims to cut back on waste by using less packaging than national meal kit services like Blue Apron.
Last year, Local Crate was one of 10 startups selected to participate in the Minneapolis-based Techstars + Target Retail accelerator. During the three-month program, Local Crate developed a meal kit for retail stores. These were sold at 10 Target locations and more than 150 co-ops starting last fall.
Local Crate's seed fund was led by The Syndicate Fund and Matchstick Ventures (both based in Minneapolis) as well as Chicago-based M25 Group and Omaha-based Router Ventures. Matchstick, a firm led by Techstars Retail Director Ryan Broshar, has invested in nine of the ten startups that participated in the 2017 program, according to Matchstick's portfolio. Brett Brohl, director of the new Techstars Farm to Fork agriculture-technology accelerator set to launch this summer, heads The Syndicate Fund. Syndicate has also made a number of investments in Techstars alumni, according to its portfolio.
In addition to adding to new markets, Local Crate recently expanded its executive team, adding Erin Newkirk as its chief marketing officer and James Collins as its vice president of operations. Newkirk has previously held leadership roles at tech, food and health startups. Collins was part of the team that developed the first local grocery delivery system, Coborns Delivers.
Local Crate plans to expand into more markets and retail outlets later this year, the company said in a release.
