7 NYC Food Startups to Watch in 2024
Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
Considered by many to be the Mecca of culinary innovation, New York City is home to a wide range of exciting food companies. From companies offering innovative meal delivery services to companies creating healthy and sustainable alternatives to our favorite foods, there are plenty of NYC food startups worth watching in 2024. In this article, we'll take a look at the top seven most promising food companies that originated in The Big Apple.
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Top Food Companies in NYC to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting NYC food startups of 2024 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. Kosterina
- Industry: Consumer Packaged Goods
- Founders: Katina Mountanos
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: $5 Million
- Investors Include: 1st Course Capital and Lakehouse Ventures
Kosterina is a food and wellness startup centered around one ingredient, olive oil. By the former founder of Manicube, Katina Mountanos, Kosterina offers a line of oils, vinegars, skincare, and food products all using top-tier extra virgin olive oil.
2. SIMULATE
- Industry: Food Manufacturing
- Founders: Ben Pasternak, Sam Terris
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: $57 Million
- Investors Include: Seven Seven Six, NOMO Ventures
SIMULATE is an early-stage biotech company striving to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable foods. The company's first product was a plant-based alternative to chicken nuggets called NUGGS. After finding success with this product, SIMULATE has gone on to produce plant-based alternatives to chicken tenders and chicken wings as well.
3. Rind
- Industry: Food Manufacturing
- Founders: Ben Cohn, Matt Weiss
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: $11.4 Million
- Investors Include: Valor Siren Ventures, Melitas Ventures
Did you know that the vast majority of the vitamins and nutrients found in most fruits are stored inside the fruit's peel? That's an unfortunate fact given that most people peel their fruit before eating it, but it's a fact that Rind has turned into a highly successful business. By making tasty fruit snacks that are produced using fruit peels, Rind is combating food waste while also offering customers some of the most nutritious snacks on the market today.
4. Smallhold
- Industry: Agriculture
- Founders: Adam DeMartino, Andrew Carter
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: $53.7 Million
- Investors Include: Energy Impact Partners, Astanor Ventures
Like every type of produce, mushrooms taste best when they are grown fresh. Growing mushrooms yourself, though, requires the right equipment and supplies. To bring fresh mushrooms to foodies all over the country, Smallhold sells mushroom growing kits for individual consumers as well as commercial-grade mushroom growing equipment for restaurants and farmers. Smallhold grows its own mushrooms and sells them in individual boxes and in-bulk.
5. MealPal
- Industry: Restaurant Services
- Founders: Katie Ghelli, Mary Biggins
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: $35 Million
- Investors Include: Menlo Ventures, Comcast Ventures
Eating out is expensive, but MealPal strives to make eating at local restaurants more affordable for those who eat out on a regular basis. With a MealPal subscription, you'll be able to get any lunch at any MealPal partner restaurant completely free of charge using MealPal credits. MealPal lets users choose the plan that is best matched to how frequently they eat our for lunch and promises substantial savings as long as you put all of the credits you receive to use.
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6. CookUnity
- Industry: Meal Delivery
- Founders: Lucia Cisilotto, Mateo Marietti, Matias Serebrinsky
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: $74.9 Million
- Investors Include: Insight Partners, Fuel Venture Capital
Have you ever dreamed of having your meals prepared by a private chef? With CookUnity, you don't have to be absurdly wealthy to enjoy this luxury. CookUnity lets its subscribers choose how many meals they would like to receive each week and then matches them with freelance chefs in their area who prepare the meals fresh in their own private kitchens. Meals are then delivered fresh (not frozen) straight to your door in recyclable packaging, ready to heat up and enjoy.
7. Gebni
- Industry: Meal Delivery
- Founders: Ali Dahmani, Mohamed Merzouk, Sid Merzouk
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: $400,000
- Investors Include: N/A
Gebni was founded on the idea that customers shouldn't have to pay full price at restaurants for unpopular menu items during off-peak hours. Using Gebni, customers ordering food for delivery or takeout can look forward to dynamic pricing based on the laws of supply and demand. Restaurants, meanwhile, can partner with Gebni to boost their sales during off-peak hours.
Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!
