According to EU-Startups, London-based meal-prep marketplace HomeCooks has secured €1.6 million in funding from investors including PXN Ventures, Love Ventures, and Speedinvest. The company, founded in 2020 by Josh Magidson, plans to use the capital to accelerate its retail expansion across the UK, specifically by forming new supermarket partnerships following a recent launch in ten Co-op stores. HomeCooks serves over 60,000 regular users with more than 300 protein-rich, chef-made meal options like Grilled Chicken Teriyaki. The funding news comes as the company is also nearing a £750,000 target on the crowdfunding platform Republic, with backing from notable angels like New Look founder Tom Singh.
The marketplace model vs. the factory
Here’s the thing about the meal-prep space: it’s mostly dominated by big brands using centralised kitchens. That means limited menus and, let’s be honest, food that can feel a bit… industrial. HomeCooks is betting that people want the opposite—real homemade variety from actual independent chefs. It’s a clever pivot. Instead of building massive kitchens, they’re building a platform. Chefs batch cook the weekly orders, and HomeCooks handles the delivery logistics. It’s asset-light and theoretically highly scalable, because expansion just means onboarding more local chefs in new regions. That’s exactly why they’re talking about pushing into the North of the UK. They don’t need to ship frozen meals from a London warehouse; they can partner with chefs in Manchester or Leeds.
Why the timing might be right
This funding isn’t happening in a vacuum. The source article lists a bunch of other European FoodTech deals—like Modern Baker, Mondra, and StiQ—totalling around €62 million. The common threads? Healthier products, alternative production models, and digital platforms. HomeCooks ticks all three boxes. After the pandemic meal-kit boom, consumers are still looking for convenience, but the novelty of cooking everything from scratch has maybe worn off for many. A pre-prepped, healthy, “homemade” meal hits a sweet spot. And the retail move is smart. Getting into Co-op stores isn’t just about new sales channels; it’s a massive brand awareness play. People browsing the chilled aisle might just grab a HomeCooks meal on impulse, which is a much lower barrier to entry than signing up for a weekly subscription online.
The founder’s playbook and the challenges
Josh Magidson isn’t new to this game. His previous venture, Eatstudent, was acquired by Just Eat. So he knows the food delivery marketplace model inside out. That pedigree probably helped secure this round from experienced VCs. But scaling a two-sided marketplace is famously hard. You need enough chefs in an area to offer variety, and enough customers to keep those chefs busy. The retail expansion could help bootstrap that in new regions—supermarket demand might justify bringing chefs onto the platform. Still, I have to wonder about consistency. “Homemade” is a great marketing term, but it’s not always synonymous with “consistent.” Can they maintain quality and food safety standards across hundreds of independent chefs? That’s their operational hurdle to clear. If they can, the model has a real edge.
What success looks like
Basically, this funding is a bet on retail distribution and geographic scaling. The investor quote mentions “rethinking established categories,” and that’s what they’re trying to do. Success means becoming a recognised brand on supermarket shelves nationwide, not just a direct-to-consumer subscription service. It means using that retail footprint to drive people back to their broader weekly meal plan service. The crowdfunding campaign on Republic is another interesting angle—it’s not just about the money, it’s about creating a community of customer-investors who are literally invested in the brand’s success. If they can nail the logistics, maintain their chef-centric ethos, and convince UK shoppers that their fridge should contain chef-made meals, they could carve out a serious niche. But the supermarket aisles are a brutal, competitive battlefield. We’ll see if they’re ready for it.
