HomeCooks raises £1.4m seed to stock supermarkets with chef-made meals via marketplace
This article covers HomeCooks, a London-based foodtech startup, which has raised £1.4m in a seed funding round to accelerate retail distribution of its home-cooked meal marketplace across the UK. The development aims to deepen supermarket partnerships and expand HomeCooks' regional rollout, supporting independent chefs and increasing the presence of chef-produced ready-to-eat meals in UK retail.
HomeCooks, a London-based foodtech startup, has raised £1.4m in a seed funding round to accelerate retail distribution of its home-cooked meal marketplace across the UK. The cash will be used to deepen supermarket partnerships and push the company’s regional rollout beyond London and the South East, a move that could reshape how locally produced meal-prep reaches mainstream retail shelves.
Why it matters
The deal highlights a push to bring chef-produced, ready-to-eat meals into physical retail at scale. Supermarkets and convenience stores have largely relied on centralised kitchens and limited, standardised menus; HomeCooks is betting that a marketplace model, pairing local chefs with retail partners, can offer greater menu variety and regional relevance while meeting demand for healthier, convenient options.
If successful, that model could change supply chains for meal-prep products and create new routes to market for independent chefs outside traditional delivery channels.
Inside the product
HomeCooks operates a marketplace that connects independent chefs with consumers and retail partners. It says partner chefs batch-cook a catalogue of over 300 meal options — examples cited include Grilled Chicken Teriyaki and Lean Mean Lasagna — which are available through weekly meal plans and, increasingly, on retail shelves.
The platform serves more than 60,000 regular users nationwide and works with a mix of retail partners. Recent retail tests include a rollout into ten Co-op stores across Lincolnshire; the company also supplies Budgens, farm shops and independent retailers. These partnerships are presented as a way to replicate the marketplace locally by linking each region’s chefs to nearby stores.
In operational terms, HomeCooks positions its model as an alternative to centralised kitchens, emphasising menu diversity and the ability to partner with local chefs as it expands regionally.
Who are the investors?
The round is backed by PXN Ventures, Love Ventures and Speedinvest, alongside a group of angel investors. The company is also backed by notable individual investors: Tom Singh, founder of New Look, and Leonard Picardo, an early Deliveroo employee.
Alongside the institutional investment, HomeCooks is running a crowdfunding round on Republic with a target of £750,000; the announcement says this raise is approaching that target.
In the announcement, Peter Carway, Investment Director at PXN Ventures, said:
We back founders who rethink established categories, and HomeCooks is tapping into two powerful trends: healthier eating and convenient meal prep. Their retail expansion is a major step forward, and we’re excited to support Josh and the team as they scale nationally.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of foodtech venture capital firms in the UK
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Founder perspective
Founded in 2020 by Josh Magidson, HomeCooks leans on his previous exits and experience in food marketplaces. Magidson previously founded Eatstudent, a student takeaway marketplace acquired by Just Eat, and Zing Zing, which grew into a large Chinese food delivery chain.
In the announcement, Josh Magidson, Founder at HomeCooks, said:
The health-focused meal-prep market is growing quickly, but customers increasingly want real homemade food and genuine variety. Our marketplace model delivers simple, everyday meals at a scale traditional food brands struggle to match, while putting independent chefs at the heart of the experience.
The company frames retail distribution as a key pillar for scaling outside the capital, particularly into northern regions, by partnering with local chefs to supply nearby stores.
The bigger picture
HomeCooks’ seed round sits within a broader context of investment into convenience-focused food solutions and localised supply chains. Retail partnerships with the Co-op and convenience chains like Budgens matter because they provide visibility and recurring demand that direct-to-consumer models can struggle to achieve at scale.
The success of this approach will hinge on logistics, food safety standards, and the ability to maintain menu consistency while working with many small producers. If HomeCooks can prove the economics, it may offer a template for other foodtech startups looking to bridge deli counters, convenience retail and platform-driven fulfilment.
This funding round is another data point in an active UK foodtech scene where investors are testing hybrids of marketplace models and retail distribution to capture demand for healthier, chef-made convenience food across the country.
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