A Kiwi home food delivery company created by an award-winning food entrepreneur is aiming to raise $800,000 via equity crowdfunding to tap into the growing demand for quick gourmet home meals.
WOOP, or World On Our Plate (woop.co.nz), offers convenient, high-quality, home-delivered meals for time-poor professionals and families that want nutritious, healthy options inspired from around the world.
The new service, which delivers gourmet meals that can be made in just 15 minutes using fresh ingredients, was created by Thomas Dietz who launched the Tomette brand of ready-made French-style meals into supermarkets three years ago. The chilled, single-portioned French meals won three major awards at the 2013 NZ Food Awards, including Best Product.
Now aiming to make quality international food available to busy professionals and families, Dietz has launched WOOP to provide a home delivery solution that will capitalise on the growing global demand for semi-prepared meals to create at home.
“The New Zealand market for these kinds of food services is relatively underdeveloped compared to overseas home food distribution,” says Dietz, who has lived in New Zealand for the past seven years.
He cites a leading American food delivery service, which delivers over 3 million meals a month at $10 per meal, giving it more than US$300m in revenue per year.
“Our research has found that one of the main barriers to more Kiwis using home food delivery services is the amount of preparation time for meals,” he explains.
“WOOP’s point of difference is that ingredients are pre-chopped, sauces are freshly made, and vegetables and meat are par-cooked if necessary, to ensure anyone can whip up a delicious dinner in just quarter of an hour.”
The company is seeking capital for expansion via equity based crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect in order to offer the service, which already operates in Auckland, to Wellington by early 2016 and reach out to Australian markets in 2017.
Funds raised will be used to build a strong operations team, purchase capital equipment, investment in a robust IT system for processing orders, and marketing the service to metro North Islanders in their target catchment regions.
Dietz aims to raise up to $800,000 via the investment initiative, which will represent a 42% per cent share in the company when met. Investors will be offered a range of incentives for various levels of investment, from dinner parties to product discounts.
“This is a chance for people to get their own slice of this food revolution which is taking off in New Zealand just as it already has in other Western nations around the world,” says Dietz.
The WOOP investment offer is live from 25th of August for thirty days or until fully subscribed. For more information, visit https://www.snowballeffect.co.nz/woop.
