Mealthy

Mealthy is on a mission to make home cooking easy and affordable.

It’s targeting the small kitchen appliance market, projected to reach $155 billion by 2022. Its products include:

• A line of kitchen appliances, including a pressure cooker and an immersion blender; and

• A set of digital tools to help consumers plan, shop for, and prepare home-cooked meals.

In short, Mealthy helps answer a question most consumers ask themselves every day: “What should I make for dinner?”

Mealthy's team is top-notch. Its Chief Product Engineer spent 12 years in the home appliance industry. And its Head of Marketing previously oversaw marketing efforts for Instant Pot. (Instant Pot is the world’s best-selling pressure cooker; it merged with the makers of Pyrex dishware in a $2.2 billion deal in March 2019.)

According to a 2018 CDC report, more than 84 million U.S. adults eat fast food every day.

WebMD published a study of 600 adults and teens that were interviewed about their food habits. When asked why they eat fast food, 92% said because “It’s quick,” and 80% said because it's easily accessible.

But the price they pay for speed and convenience has a significant impact on their wallets… and their waistlines.

Ohio Medical Group recently reported the average American family spends $1,200 each year on fast food. This food tends to be higher in calories, fat, sugar, and salt.

When consumed in excess, these ingredients are associated with obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, obesity-related illnesses carry annual healthcare costs of $190 billion.

Despite Americans’ propensity to dine out, more than half of U.S. adults said they'd prepare dinner at home more often if they had new ideas for meals. The problem is they lack the tools, recipes, and ideas.

Mealthy provides these tools with its line of kitchen appliances and technology products.

The company’s current line of products includes the MultiPot, a multi-functioning pressure cooker, and HandBlend, a handheld immersion blender.

The MultiPot is built with 14 cooking presets, and has an LCD panel with a progress indicator to help guide the user through the cooking process. Meanwhile, the HandBlend has a stainless steel design and is used to blend smoothies, sauces, and soups.

The 6-quart MultiPot retails for $99.95 and the 8-quart sells for $129.95. These prices are lower than other pressure cookers that retail for between $120 to $160. The HandBlend retails for $39.95.

When customers purchase a Mealthy appliance, they gain access to the company’s mobile app and website. The app averages 500 downloads per day, and the website averages 100,000 visitors per month. These platforms enable users to:

• Discover recipes like Salmon and Cauliflower Rice Soup, Ginger Chicken Stir Fry, and Paprika Garlic Shrimp.

• Create grocery lists.

• And place grocery orders through Mealthy’s partners Instacart and Amazon Fresh.

The company also has accounts on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, enabling users to join a community of other Mealthy users and share recipe ideas.

While consumers gain access to these platforms after purchasing an appliance, they can view recipes, articles, and videos from Mealthy even if they don’t own any of the company’s products. In fact, this has become a way for Mealthy to attract additional customers without spending money on advertising.

In 2018, Mealthy generated $6.3 million in revenue, the company’s first year of sales. Its MultiPot is the No. 2 best-selling multi-functioning pressure cooker on Amazon, and both the cooker and HandBlend have 4.7-star ratings or higher on the e-commerce platform.

In 2019, Mealthy aims to launch several new products, including:

• 2-in-1 Blender: This will retail for $129 and launch in Q3 2019.

• Air Fryer: This will retail for $99 and launch in Q3 2019.

• Glass Tea Kettle: This will retail for $30 and launch in Q3 2019.

• Frying Pan: This will retail for $70 and launch in Q3 2019

• Stainless Steel Pan: This will retail for $59 and launch in Q3 2019.

In addition to these products, Mealthy will introduce its CrispLid that transforms any pressure cooker into an air fryer. This product uses the company’s patented Instant-Crisp technology, and will launch in Q2 2019 for $49.

To increase its distribution, Mealthy will work with national and international retailers, targeting new markets such as Mexico, UK, India, and South Africa.

Team Background

Anna Di Meglio - Head of Marketing

Anna is a strategic marketing and sales professional with more than 15 years in the consumer packaged goods industry.

She oversaw marketing strategy efforts for Instant Pot, the world’s best-selling pressure cooker that was bought 300,000 times during Amazon’s 2018 “Prime Day.” She's also worked in marketing for brands including Auclair, Beefeater, Sauza, and Neutrogena.

Anna earned a Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University and a Management certificate from Michigan State University.

Bernardo de le Vega - Founder & CEO

Bernardo has experience working in finance and growing consumer-product-related companies.

He founded Radha Beauty, an online beauty products retailer that reached $36 million in sales in 2017, and was acquired in November 2018.

In addition, he worked as a consultant for Ernst & Young, a financial services company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from University of North Carolina.

Peter Han - Head of Finance and Operations

Peter has managed startups for 20 years, focusing on areas such as finance and consulting.

He co-founded Datamyne, a data research company. In addition, he was Chief Financial Officer for StillPoint Technologies, which provides IT solutions to small businesses.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an MBA from The University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Mosinski - Head of Product and Content

Jennifer has an extensive background in both the technical and culinary industries.

She was a technical writer for Microsoft, Bio-Rad Laboratories, and Nintendo. She was also a writer for food & beverage companies Glass Vodka and Allrecipes.com, where she created instruction manuals for kitchen appliances.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree from BYU and a Culinary degree from San Diego Culinary Institute.

Henkey He - Chief Product Engineer

Henkey has 12 years of experience in the home appliance industry.

He worked for Midea, the largest appliance manufacturer in China, focusing on R&D efforts, sales, and marketing.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Guangdong University of Technology and will earn his MBA from the University of Minnesota in 2019.

Co-Investors