Shef
Shef is a two-sided homemade food marketplace that connects vetted home cooks with consumers via a subscription-based meal delivery platform, serving 180,000+ households across 11 U.S. states through weekly meal plans and premium ingredient tiers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Shef does
Shef, Inc. is a chef-to-consumer meal delivery marketplace headquartered in San Francisco, California, with a secondary hub in New York and a registered address in Beaverton, Oregon. Founded in 2018 and incubated through Y Combinator, the company operates a two-sided platform that connects vetted home cooks (referred to as "shefs") with households seeking fresh, home-prepared meals. As of recent reporting, Shef serves over 180,000 households across 11 U.S. states and 12+ metropolitan areas including the Bay Area, New York City, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, and New Jersey.
The core technology is a marketplace platform accessible via website and native iOS/Android applications that supports menu browsing, dietary filtering (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo, Organic, Halal, Whole 30, Low FODMAP, Dairy Free, Kosher), order management, payment processing, and delivery logistics coordination. A defining supply-side feature is the chef vetting system: fewer than 5% of chef applicants are accepted, with ongoing quality auditing of every dish and food-safety certification verification. The platform supports multi-chef order aggregation, allowing customers to mix meals from several local chefs in a single delivery. Product offerings include the Weekly Shef Service (recurring subscription starting at $54/week with skip/pause/cancel options), One-Time Orders, a Premium "Shared Personal Chef" tier, and an Organic and Premium Proteins quality tier (organic ingredients, grass-fed proteins, wild-caught seafood).
Shef monetizes through three primary revenue streams: marketplace commissions charged to chefs on each transaction, customer-facing service fees (including delivery costs and taxes), and recurring weekly subscription revenue. Total disclosed institutional funding is approximately $101.5M across multiple rounds, including a $20M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in June 2021 and a $73.5M Series B in March 2023 led by CRV with participation from Amex Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Karman Ventures. The company employs 101–250 staff and operates under a hybrid model with two regional hubs. Founders Joey Grassia (CEO & co-founder) and Alvin Salehi (Founder, Chairman) lead the company, which has earned external recognition including Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies 2022, Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2021, and Y Combinator's Top Companies 2022.
Shef firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shef
- Legal name
- Shef, Inc.
- Website
- https://shef.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Shef is a two-sided homemade food marketplace that connects vetted home cooks with consumers via a subscription-based meal delivery platform, serving 180,000+ households across 11 U.S. states through weekly meal plans and premium ingredient tiers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shef industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Food Marketplace
- akta.pro primary industry
- Restaurant Meal & Prepared Food Delivery (CRAFAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Local Chef/Restaurant Meal Boxes & Marketplace Prepared Meals (CRAHAJAI), Prepared Meal Subscriptions (Chef-Prepared, Recurring) (CRAHAJAD), Restaurant Meal Delivery Platforms & Aggregators (AFAIAMAA)
Keywords
Where Shef is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Shef business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Commission: Shef charges sellers (shefs) a commission on each meal transaction. Sellers are independent business owners who pay Shef's commission as outlined in the fee policy.
- Service Fees: Customers pay a service fee to Shef in addition to the purchase price for meals, as well as applicable delivery costs and taxes.
- Weekly Subscription Orders: Recurring weekly orders where customers subscribe to weekly meal service with flexible skip/pause/cancel options, providing predictable recurring revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Weekly | Weekly Shef Service starting at $54/week |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Shef product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shef operates a chef-to-consumer meal delivery marketplace connecting households with vetted local home cooks who prepare and sell homemade dishes. Customers order through the website or mobile app, selecting from weekly menus published by independent local chefs. Meals are cooked fresh in small batches, packaged, and delivered to the customer's door. Shef also enables home cooks to earn income by selling their culinary creations through the platform.
Product overview
Shef is a chef-to-consumer meal delivery marketplace that connects households with local culinary talent. The core offering consists of the Weekly Shef Service (a recurring meal subscription) and One-Time Orders. The platform has expanded to offer premium tiers including the 'Organic and Premium Proteins Tier' featuring higher-quality ingredients. Shef operates as a two-sided marketplace enabling local food entrepreneurs to sell homemade dishes to customers in their communities, reaching over 15 million households across multiple U.S. metropolitan areas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Weekly Shef Service A weekly recurring meal delivery subscription allowing families to receive fresh, small-batch meals prepared by vetted local chefs. Customers select meals in advance; chefs cook, cool, and package orders for delivery. Plans start at $54 per week with current promotional 40% discount.
- One-Time Order A single delivery option that allows customers to order meals from local chefs without committing to a recurring subscription.
- Organic and Premium Proteins Tier A dedicated premium quality tier within the Weekly Shef Service featuring organic ingredients, grass-fed proteins, and wild-caught seafood, distinguishing the offering from grocery-delivery kits and packaged prepared-meal providers.
- Shef Mobile Application Mobile application available on iOS App Store and Google Play that enables customers to browse chef menus, place and manage meal orders, track deliveries, and customize dietary preferences.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 180,000 households served
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Shef
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Shef technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Shef partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Shef competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- DoorDash: Dominant restaurant meal delivery platform with broad national footprint and DoorDash Kitchens/ghost-kitchen initiatives. Represents the large-scale competitive alternative for the prepared-meal delivery occasion.
- Blue Apron: Pioneer meal kit subscription operator. Competes for the home-meal occasion with a national, kit-based model rather than a chef marketplace.
- Daily Harvest: Direct-to-consumer prepared food subscription covering meals, smoothies, and bowls. Competes for the convenience-meal occasion with a centralized production model rather than a chef marketplace.
- HelloFresh: Largest global meal kit and prepared meal subscription operator. Competes broadly for the home-meal occasion with massive scale, marketing budget, and now an owned prepared-meal brand (Factor).
- Factor: Prepared meal subscription service (owned by HelloFresh) delivering chef-inspired heat-and-eat meals. Competes for the same weekly-meal occasion but operates a centralized, owned-kitchen model versus Shef's marketplace.
- Sunbasket: Meal kit and prepared meal subscription with a focus on organic and premium ingredients. Comparable on premium positioning but operates a centralized production model.
Emerging players
- Tovala: Smart-oven plus prepared meal subscription offering chef-designed meals. Comparable on prepared-meal subscription and chef-designed positioning, with a differentiated hardware ecosystem.
Direct peers
- Goldbelly: Online marketplace for artisanal, regional, and chef-made foods shipped nationally. Comparable as a curated food marketplace leveraging independent chef/producer supply and storytelling-driven brand positioning.
- Mosaic Foods: Plant-based prepared meal subscription delivering chef-designed frozen meals. Comparable on subscription cadence and prepared-meal retail, with overlap in health-conscious and vegetarian customer segments.
- CookUnity: Chef-prepared meal subscription service connecting vetted independent chefs with consumers for weekly recurring delivery. Closest direct competitor to Shef given the shared marketplace-plus-subscription model and chef-vetting focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Shef social profiles
Digital presenceShef financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shef leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Shef funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shef M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shef
What does Shef do?
Shef operates a chef-to-consumer meal delivery marketplace connecting households with vetted local home cooks who prepare and sell homemade dishes. Customers order through the website or mobile app, selecting from weekly menus published by independent local chefs. Meals are cooked fresh in small batches, packaged, and delivered to the customer's door. Shef also enables home cooks to earn income by selling their culinary creations through the platform.
Is Shef a public or private company?
Shef is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Shef founded?
Shef was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Shef based?
Shef is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Shef make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Commission is the primary driver. The others are service Fees and weekly Subscription Orders.
Who are Shef's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are DoorDash, Blue Apron, Daily Harvest, HelloFresh, Factor and Sunbasket. Tovala is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Goldbelly, Mosaic Foods and CookUnity.
Does Shef have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shef.
What industry is Shef in?
Shef's product category is Online Food Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAFAB, Restaurant Meal & Prepared Food Delivery, with a secondary code of CRAHAJAI, Local Chef/Restaurant Meal Boxes & Marketplace Prepared Meals.