The company delivered one million meals per week.[2] Meals were able to be heated by microwaveoroven without preparation.[3] Freshly also donated excess ingredients and meals to local food banks as a part of its partnership with Feeding America.
Freshly was founded by Michael Wystrach and Carter Comstock in 2012. Wystrach sought to lose weight after a decline in his health following years working in investment banking. His family operated a restaurant, The Steak Out in Sonoita, Arizona, and he and a family friend, emergency room doctor Frank Comstock, helped prepare nutritious meals for delivery. After word of mouth spread, Frank's son, Carter Comstock, founded the company with Wystrach. Wystrach was influenced by 4-H program initiatives and adopted minimal food waste and sustainability into Freshly's menus.[2][4][5]
In February 2017, the company announced plans to open a meal distribution center in Savage, Maryland and the creation of 500 jobs.[8]
In June 2017, the company raised $77 million in a funding round led by Nestlé.[9][10]
In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Freshly donated prepared foods worth the equivalent of $500,000 to Meals on Wheels and reported a year-over-year sales increase of 50%.[11]
In 2020, Freshly expanded to business-to-business food delivery, including to workers in essential services.[12]
In October 2020, Freshly was acquired by Nestlé for US$950 million plus up to another US$550 million in earn out payments.[13][14]
1 Currently manufactured by General Mills in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by General Mills; U.S. and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license. 3 U.S. production rights owned by The Hershey Company. 4 U.S. rights and production owned by the Smarties Candy Company with a different product. 5 U.S. rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by Associated British Foods. 6 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners and branded as Nestlé in the U.K. and Ireland. Produced by Post Foods elsewhere. 8 Philippine production rights owned by Alaska Milk Corporation. 9 Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai production rights owned by Fraser and Neave. 10 Used only in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. 11 Used only in the Philippines. 12 U.S. production rights owned by the Ferrara Candy Company. 13NA rights and specific trade dress to all packaged coffee and other products under the Starbucks brand owned by Nestlé since 2019. 14 Brand owned by Mars, sold by Nestlé in Canada. 15 Produced by Froneri in the U.S. since 2020.