- Quebec's leader in home-delivered meals is supported by large institutional investors
- Sales are up 300% from the previous year
MONTREAL, Jan 27, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - WeCook, Quebec's leader in fresh, ready-to-eat, home-delivered meals, is proud to announce a $7-million round of financing that will accelerate its growth in Quebec and Ontario. The financing was led by Desjardins Capital, which, for the second time in a year, has increased its stake in WeCook with an equity investment. Private investors also took part in the financing alongside National Bank's Technology and Innovation Banking Group, which provided debt financing.
"I'm excited about the interest generated by this round of financing as WeCook becomes even more successful in Quebec and sees tremendous sales growth in Ontario, less than a year after we launched our operations in that province. We're staying focused on our goal of becoming the largest company in Canada's home-delivered, ready-to-eat meals sector, which includes expansion into Western Canada in 2022," said Étienne Plourde, founder and CEO of WeCook.
"We're proud to continue our association with WeCook, whose operational and financial performance is quite remarkable. Disciplined execution of its business strategy and the ability to produce definitive results reflect the strong skills and rigorous approach of the two young entrepreneurs leading the company as well as their extensive knowledge of food processing and digital marketing," said Marie-Hélène Nolet, Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins Capital.
"WeCook's track record over the past few years has been impressive and the past few months have also shown the calibre of its team, which has coped with a sharp increase in demand and various issues related to the pandemic. So we're delighted to support a technological leader in home-delivered prepared meals as it carries out its ambitious growth plan on a national scale," said Channt Chea, Senior Director, Technology and Innovation Banking at National Bank.
A robust business model in a rapidly growing market
The investments made in recent years have enabled WeCook to build a robust operating structure that has allowed it to respond effectively to the 300% increase in sales on an annualized basis over the previous fiscal year. In addition, the company's business model is uniquely suited to the current sustainable transition to e-commerce in Canada's fast-growing online food delivery market valued at nearly $5 billion annually.
To continue its expansion, WeCook will build on the key pillars that have contributed to its success:
- Extensive expertise in food processing combined with state-of-the-art facilities;
- Constant concern about product quality and customer satisfaction;
- Excellence in digital marketing, including a very low customer acquisition cost in comparison with its competitors;
- Tight operational management and a highly efficient online sales platform; and
- A committed, disciplined and skilled management team.
In the recently concluded round of financing, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton acted as exclusive financial advisor to WeCook.
About WeCook
Founded in 2013, WeCook is the Quebec leader in fresh, home-delivered, ready-to-eat meals. The Company has a strong delivery network across Quebec and Ontario, with about 100 pick-up locations. With more than 400 employees working at its food production facilities in Saint-Hyacinthe and Dorval, WeCook serves close to 20,000 customers through its online sales platform and prepares nearly 2.5 million meals a year. WeCook has 65,000 Facebook followers and 35,000 Instagram followers. https://www.wecookmeals.ca
SOURCE WeCook
Media relations: Mélanie Tardif, CPA, CMA, [email protected], 514 229-6199
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