Fraiche

What Fraiche does

Fraîche is a New York-based foodtech company founded in 2019 that operates a smart-fridge-as-a-service platform for workplaces. The company installs connected refrigerators in employer offices and restocks them daily with chef-made meals and curated snacks sourced from a roster of partner restaurants (Daniel Boulud's Epicerie Boulud, Tacombi, Maman, Le Botaniste, Springbone, Breads Bakery) and local producers. Employees interact with the fridge through native iOS and Android applications, which unlock the door, display daily menus, and process in-app purchases backed by Checkout.com payment processing. Fraîche markets AI-powered meal personalization and data-driven, consumption-forecasted restocking as features that reduce waste and align inventory to observed team demand; no proprietary models or third-party benchmarks are disclosed for these capabilities.

The business model is B2B-led with a consumer-facing app overlay. Companies pay a quote-based subscription priced per employee per day, with optional employer subsidies and employee self-pay via app credits; setup fees and recurring service fees apply per the company's FAQ. The company also runs a D2C transactional layer through employee app purchases and briefly operated a COVID-era subscription produce box (Fraîche Box) sourced from New York farmers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed at line-item level and is delivered via a sales-led motion targeting HR/People Ops and Facilities decision-makers in NYC enterprise accounts, with named customers including BCG, Gen2, Interparfums, and Haventech.

Following its $2 million seed raise in December 2021, Fraîche scaled toward a stated goal of 100 fridge sites by end of 2023. On 2025-05-14, CookUnity acquired Fraîche and folded the smart-fridge workplace program into a new CookUnity Business line, providing access to CookUnity's national chef network and infrastructure; the Fraîche brand continues as the workplace offering within CookUnity. Fraîche Corp is the US parent entity, headquartered in Brooklyn, NY (56 Marcy Ave), with a legal address at 154 W 14th Street, New York, NY.

Name

Fraiche

Legal name

Fraîche Corp

Website

https://fraiche.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fraîche is a New York-based workplace foodtech company that installs smart refrigerators in employer offices, stocked daily with chef-made meals and snacks from partner restaurants, accessed by employees via a mobile app. Acquired by CookUnity in May 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Workplace Smart Fridge Subscription: B2B recurring revenue from companies paying per employee per day for the smart-fridge service; pricing starts at a per-employee-per-day rate. Companies may subsidize or employees may pay via credits in the app.
2. Employee App Purchases: Employees use the Fraîche app to purchase items directly from the smart fridge; transaction-level consumer revenue captured via Checkout.com payment processing.
3. Setup & Service Fees: One-time setup fees and recurring service fees charged to company customers as part of the workplace food program (referenced in FAQ).
4. Fraîche Box Subscription (COVID-era): Subscription produce/food box pivoted during COVID to support local NY farmers; subscription recurring model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fraîche installs smart refrigerators at employer sites and stocks them daily with chef-made meals and curated snacks sourced from partner restaurants and local NYC producers, giving employees 24/7 access to fresh food at work. Employees unlock the fridge and complete purchases through the Fraîche iOS/Android mobile app via a Scan, Scan, and Go flow, while Fraîche handles installation, daily restocking, and AI-driven personalization. The service is sold to companies on a per-employee-per-day subscription basis, with employers able to subsidize and employees able to self-pay via the app.

Product overview

Fraîche's offering is a smart-fridge-as-a-service platform for workplaces, composed of one core hardware-enabled product (the Fraîche Smart Fridge) and a tightly coupled mobile application (the Fraîche Mobile App), supported by two adjacent offerings: the Fraîche Club editorial/community platform and the legacy Fraîche Box subscription box. The Fraîche Smart Fridge is the core product — a 24/7-accessible refrigerator installed in employer offices and stocked daily with meals and snacks from partner restaurants and local producers. Employees interact with the fridge through the Fraîche Mobile App (iOS/Android), which unlocks the door and processes in-app purchases. Behind the scenes, Fraîche applies AI-powered meal personalization and data-driven restocking to optimize what goes into each fridge. Fraîche Club (club.fraiche.io) functions as a supporting content/community layer with wellness articles, restaurant reviews, recipes, and company news, while Fraîche Box — launched in 2020 as a COVID-era pivot — delivers local-produce subscription boxes direct to consumers from New York farmers. Following the May 14, 2025 acquisition by CookUnity, the smart-fridge program has continued under the CookUnity Business line, marketed as "CookUnity Business: chef-made meals, delivered through smart fridges at work," with expanded chef network, menu variety, and national footprint while preserving the existing Fraîche fridge experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fraîche Box: A subscription box launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with New York local farmers and producers, offering consumers access to fresh, natural, and organic food.

Products and services

• Fraîche Smart Fridge Office smart-fridge-as-a-service: a 24/7-accessible refrigerator installed at employer sites, stocked daily with chef-made meals and curated snacks from partner restaurants and local producers. Employees unlock and purchase items via the Fraîche mobile app. The program continues under CookUnity Business following the May 2025 acquisition.
• Fraîche Mobile App iOS and Android app that lets employees browse the daily menu, unlock the Fraîche smart fridge, scan and select items, and complete purchases via a Scan, Scan, and Go flow. Re-branded post-acquisition to 'CookUnity Business / Fraîche' on the App Store.
• Fraîche Box Subscription produce box launched during COVID-19 as a pivot from the office smart-fridge model. Sourced from New York local farmers and producers, delivering fresh, natural and organic food directly to consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.5 tons CO2 emissions saved per employee per year (1,500 tons/yr for a 1,000-employee company)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• CookUnityflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2025CookUnity acquired Fraîche in May 2025 to expand its chef-led offering into the workplace. Fraîche is now part of CookUnity Business; the smart-fridge program continues under CookUnity with access to its chef network, infrastructure, and national footprint. Existing Fraîche customers are transitioned to CookUnity Business.
• Chef Daniel Boulud / Epicerie BouludflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner supplying fresh salads/meals for Fraîche smart fridges; chef-branded content on Fraîche's partners page.
• TacombicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC Mexican restaurant group featured as a Fraîche food partner, supplying meals for workplace smart fridges.
• MamancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench-inspired bakery/café (67 University Pl) supplying family-inspired dishes and baked goods for Fraîche smart fridges.
• Le BotanistecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlant-focused organic restaurant (founded by Alain Coumont) supplying three 'prescription bowls' (peanut curry, bolognese, spicy veggie chili) to Fraîche smart fridges.
• SpringbonecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC bone broth and bowls brand (90 W 3rd Street, founders Sam Eckstein & Jordan Feldman) supplying wholesome, nutritious gluten-free meals.
• Breads BakerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC bakery announced as a Fraîche food partner (joined in 2024 per Club Fraîche post).
• Harmless HarvestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoconut water/snack brand listed as a Fraîche food partner.
• White MoustacheminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYogurt brand listed as a Fraîche food partner.
• CocojuneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic coconut yogurt brand listed as a Fraîche food partner.
• HoneybrainsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC cognitive-wellness food/coffee concept featured as a Fraîche food partner.
• Mille NonneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian restaurant brand referenced as a Fraîche partner for soul food in smart fridges.
• BeviminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmart water dispenser brand; Bevi x Fraîche co-marketing partnership highlighted in Green Future blog to reduce single-use plastic bottles.
• ReplateminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFood rescue nonprofit; Fraîche donates non-consumed meals to Replate, which redistributes to community fridges and nonprofits (e.g., Harlem Grown).
• Harlem GrownminorOthersNYC urban-farming nonprofit receiving Fraîche donated meals via Replate across 12 urban farms; partnership supports community food access.
• Checkout.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor used by Fraîche to handle employee in-app purchases; users agree to Checkout.com terms by ordering through the Services.
• GreenlyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustainability platform; published a Fraîche case study referenced from Fraîche's homepage press section.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Farmer's Fridge: Farmer's Fridge operates a national network of smart fridges stocked with chef-made, fresh meals in offices, hospitals, airports, and universities — the closest direct comparable to Fraîche's workplace smart-fridge model, with similar app-based purchase flow and daily restocking logistics.
• Cater2.me: Cater2.me is a B2B corporate catering platform providing daily, rotating meal programs to NYC and other metro offices — directly competing with Fraîche for the same workplace food-services buyer, with similar target customers (HR/People Ops, office managers) but a delivery-catering rather than smart-fridge mechanism.

Broad incumbents

• 365 Retail Markets: 365 Retail Markets is a large, established provider of unattended retail technology (micro-markets, vending, smart coolers) for workplaces, providing the platform layer that powers many corporate micro-markets; competes with Fraîche in the same end-customer use case but via a kiosk/vending stack rather than chef-curated daily menus.
• ezCater: ezCater is the largest U.S. corporate catering marketplace, providing offices with on-demand group meal ordering from thousands of restaurants — directly named as a comparison point by Fraîche's own positioning, and competing for the same workplace food budget but through group ordering rather than a 24/7 self-serve fridge.
• Canteen Vending Services: Canteen, a subsidiary of Compass Group, is a national vending and micro-market operator serving corporate, healthcare, and education clients; an established incumbent with deep field-service infrastructure that competes with Fraîche for the workplace food-services dollar across broad geographies.
• Sodexo: Sodexo is a global contract foodservice and workplace experience operator with broad corporate dining, vending, and micro-market capabilities; a deep-pocketed incumbent competing for the same enterprise workplace-meal budget as Fraîche, but operating at a vastly larger scale and through traditional cafeteria/vending channels.

Emerging players

• MealPal: MealPal offered subscription-based workplace lunch programs that gave employees daily access to meals at nearby restaurants — overlapping with Fraîche on the workplace-meal subscription concept and B2B sales motion, though historically using a pickup/credit model rather than on-site smart fridges.

Others

• CookUnity: CookUnity is Fraîche's parent company following the May 2025 acquisition, and itself operates a D2C chef-meal subscription marketplace; it provides the chef network and national infrastructure that now powers the Fraîche/CookUnity Business smart-fridge line, and is adjacent rather than directly competitive.
• Imperfect Foods: Imperfect Foods is a sustainable D2C grocery delivery service focused on reducing food waste — comparable to Fraîche's earlier "Fraîche Box" subscription box product and its broader sustainability positioning, but serving consumers rather than workplaces.
• Hungryroot: Hungryroot is an AI-personalized grocery and recipe delivery service — adjacent to Fraîche's data-driven restocking and AI-powered meal personalization approach, but as a consumer grocery subscription rather than a workplace food service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/fraichekiosk
• Xx.com/FraicheKiosk
• Facebookfacebook.com/fraichekiosk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fraiche