D.C.-based venture fund Revolution Growth will invest millions into the (entirely coincidentally named) Revolution Foods, a provider of nutritious meals for children based in California. Revolution clearly has an interest in healthy food, having also invested $22 million in popular salad restaurant chain sweetgreen. The new investment, which puts Revolution CEO Steve Case on its board, will spread Revolution Foods meal service to schools as well as the reach of its Meal Kits, pre-made, healthy meals for kids, into stores and schools.
"There are many facets to addressing the healthcare challenges we face in our country – and one of them is access to healthier food options at home, at work, on the road, and especially in our schools," Case said in a release about the investment. "Revolution Foods is poised to build an iconic brand and company by unleashing a revolution in healthy eating that kids, parents, teachers and communities can all celebrate."
The amount that Revolution Growth invested was not listed in the release, but an article in the Washington Business Journal indicated an investment of $30 million.
The idea behind Revolution Foods is to make healthy meals for kids that they will want to eat and can be made reimbursable for the schools through national programs that provide school lunches to kids. According to the company, more than a thousand schools, many in low-income areas, receive the meals, over a million of which are sent out every week.
"We are thrilled that Revolution Growth believes, as we do, that kids should not have to face a tradeoff between eating great-tasting healthy food and eating affordably," said Kristin Groos Richmond, co-founder and CEO of Revolution Foods in the release. "We look forward to partnering with Steve Case and the Revolution Growth team as we bring our mission of building lifelong healthy eaters to families across the United States."
The Meal Kits are also available to families to buy in grocery stores, and avoid preservatives and artificial ingredients as well as one of the current banes of the healthy kids movement, high-fructose corn syrup. There are over 2,000 grocery stores including some Safeway stores, that stock the Meal Kits.
It will definitely be worth noting if Case, in his "Rise of the Rest" bus tour, ends up picking another healthy food venture to invest in. Or maybe just another company with the name Revolution.
Image via Revolution Foods
