Eat Offbeat

What Eat Offbeat does

Eat Offbeat is a New York City-based specialty food and merchandise company founded in 2015 that produces and sells hand-crafted provisions, curated gift collections, a published cookbook, and mission-driven apparel. Its core offerings are snacks, sweets, spices, teas, dried fruits, cocoa, and beverages made by refugee and immigrant chefs working out of a commercial kitchen at Chelsea Market, following authentic recipes from their home countries, including Syria, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Senegal, Turkey, Morocco, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, and Lebanon. The product portfolio is organized around three primary 'Taste of Home' gift bundles ($89.99, $109.99, and $129.99), individual artisan provisions priced $7.49-$24.99, the $24.99 'Kitchen Without Borders' cookbook, and an 'At Home in NY' apparel line at $19.90-$29.90.

The business runs a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at shop.eatoffbeat.com with flat-rate US-wide shipping of $5.00-$17.49, supplemented by free next-day pickup at Chelsea Market, and a corporate catering channel for office lunches, team events, and formal dinner parties. Pricing is uniformly unit-based with pay-as-you-go billing, and there are no subscription tiers, enterprise contracts, or recurring revenue mechanisms evident. Distribution is exclusively domestic within the United States. Marketing relies on e-commerce content, an email newsletter, and organic social on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The company is organized as Eat Offbeat, LLC, a private, founder-led entity (co-founder and CEO Manal Kahi) operating in New York with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, or institutional investors. External capital is limited to two early rounds totaling $205,000 — $25,000 from the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures (December 2015) and $180,000 from the WeWork Creator Fund (November 2017). The model combines commercial revenue with a stated social mission of providing quality employment to refugees and immigrants in the United States, anchored by a strategic partnership with Workman Publishing and the International Rescue Committee on the cookbook initiative.

Name

Eat Offbeat

Legal name

Eat Offbeat, LLC

Website

https://eatoffbeat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eat Offbeat is a New York-based specialty food company that sells hand-crafted provisions, curated gift collections, a cookbook, and apparel made by refugee and immigrant chefs via e-commerce, Chelsea Market pickup, and corporate catering in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Ethnic Food and Corporate Catering

NAICS

Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing (311821), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529), Caterers (722320), Baked Goods Retailers (445291)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Cookies & Crackers (2052), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Premium Gourmet & Chef-Curated Meal Kits/Prepared Meals (CRAHAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH), Meal Kits & Recipe Box Subscriptions (AFAIANAA)

Keywords

• Specialty ethnic food
• Corporate catering service
• Curated food gift boxes
• Global artisanal provisions
• Social impact food brand

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Food Products Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of hand-crafted snacks, sweets, spices, teas, and provisions made by refugee and immigrant chefs following authentic recipes from their home countries.
2. Cookbook Sales: Sale of The Kitchen Without Borders cookbook published by Workman Publishing, featuring recipes and stories from refugee and immigrant chefs. Workman Publishing donates 2% of cover price to the International Rescue Committee.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of mission-driven apparel including t-shirts and racerback tops featuring the At Home in NY campaign messaging.
4. Corporate Catering: Corporate catering services for office lunches, team events, and formal dinner parties, positioning the company as a unique option for corporate food needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Eat Offbeat produces and sells globally-inspired provisions—sweets, cookies, dates, spices, teas, and cocoa mixes—hand-crafted by refugee and immigrant chefs using authentic recipes from their home countries. It packages these artisan foods into curated Taste of Home gift box bundles and individual SKUs sold through its shop.eatoffbeat.com direct-to-consumer storefront, with corporate catering services for office events and a Chelsea Market pickup point in NYC. The company also publishes The Kitchen Without Borders Cookbook and sells mission-driven apparel under the At Home in NY campaign.

Product overview

Eat Offbeat is a specialty food and merchandise company operating an e-commerce platform selling globally-inspired provisions, snacks, and gift collections crafted by refugee and immigrant chefs. The product portfolio consists of three main gift box bundles (TASTE OF HOME COLLECTION at $89.99, TASTE OF HOME HOLIDAY COLLECTION at $109.99, and TASTE OF HOME DELUXE COLLECTION at $129.99), individual artisan food provisions (cookies, sweets, teas, spices, dried fruits, and beverages from countries including Iraq, Sri Lanka, Syria, Senegal, Turkey, Venezuela, Morocco, Nepal, and Afghanistan), a published cookbook titled 'The Kitchen Without Borders Cookbook' featuring 70+ recipes from 14 refugee chefs, and an apparel/merchandise line under the 'At Home in NY' campaign featuring t-shirts and racerback tops. The company sources products from multiple country origins and provides quality employment to refugees and immigrants living in the US.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Taste of Home Collection: A curated collection of global sweets and signature Eat Offbeat goodies, thoughtfully crafted, beautifully packaged, and perfect for gifting.

Products and services

• Taste of Home Collection (Sweet Indulgence Gift Box)
• Taste of Home Holiday Collection
• Taste of Home Deluxe Collection
• The Kitchen Without Borders Cookbook
• Zaatar Blend
• Venezuelan Hot Cocoa Mix
• Zhourat Herbal Tea
• Iraqi Walnut Tahini Dates
• Sri Lankan Coconut Sweets
• Syrian Maamoul Cookies
• Turkish Dried Apricots
• Syrian Barazek Sesame Cookies
• Senegalese Spiced Candied Peanuts
• At Home in NY: The Chefs' Tee
• At Home in NY: The Welcomer's Tee
• At Home in NY: The Storyteller's Tee
• At Home in NY: The Racerback Top
• Gift Card
• Corporate Catering

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Workman PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Workman Publishing is the publisher of The Kitchen Without Borders cookbook, Eat Offbeat's first cookbook. From March 2021 to March 2022, Workman donated 2% of cover price to the International Rescue Committee with a minimum contribution of $25,000 USD. The cookbook is also available through Workman's distribution network including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop, and IndieBound.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The International Rescue Committee partnered with Eat Offbeat and Workman Publishing for the Kitchen Without Borders cookbook initiative. The IRC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid, relief, and resettlement to refugees and other victims of oppression or violent conflict. Workman Publishing donates 2% of cookbook sales to the IRC.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Goldbelly: Direct-to-consumer marketplace curating iconic American and international foods for gifting nationwide. Highly comparable to Eat Offbeat's premium DTC food-gift positioning, curated bundles, and story-driven product storytelling, though Goldbelly is a multi-seller aggregator scaled significantly larger.
• Mouth: Curated DTC platform selling small-batch, artisanal American food and drink gifts in tiered bundles similar to Eat Offbeat's Taste of Home collections. Now part of Food52, but historically the most direct comparable in premium DTC food gifting.
• Diaspora Co. A mission-driven, direct-to-consumer single-origin spice brand founded to empower South Asian farming communities. Matches Eat Offbeat on DTC model, premium pricing, social-impact narrative, and storytelling around provenance and cultural heritage of food products.
• Burlap & Barrel: Direct-to-consumer single-origin spice company working directly with small farms to bring never-before-exported varietals to US consumers. Comparable to Eat Offbeat's provisions product line (spices, teas, cocoa) in DTC format and premium gifting positioning.
• Wildgrain: Direct-to-consumer subscription brand delivering small-batch artisan breads, pastries, and baked goods from independent bakeries to home customers nationwide. Comparable to Eat Offbeat on artisanal baked-goods DTC, giftability, and premium pricing for chef-crafted products.

Emerging players

• Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC-based nonprofit social enterprise that trains and employs women of color, immigrants, and refugees in commercial baking, producing artisanal products for retail and foodservice. Closest peer to Eat Offbeat on the refugee/immigrant culinary-employment mission in a New York context.
• Cureate: Mission-driven food and beverage platform focused on sourcing from immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC producers, with curated wholesale and B2B channels. Comparable to Eat Offbeat in championing refugee/immigrant culinary talent through commercial distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Food52: Larger DTC food and home brand combining editorial content, cookbook publishing partnerships, and a curated marketplace of artisanal goods. Overlaps with Eat Offbeat on cookbook publishing, gift curation, and story-driven artisanal food commerce, but at much greater scale.
• King Arthur Baking Company: Long-established US baking brand spanning retail flour, baking mixes, cookbooks, and DTC. Touches Eat Offbeat's baked-goods category and cookbook/publishing model, but operates at vastly larger scale as a broad incumbent.
• Ten Speed Press: Major cookbook publisher (Penguin Random House imprint) with an extensive catalog of chef-driven cookbooks, the publishing partner equivalent to Workman for Eat Offbeat's Kitchen Without Borders cookbook. Overlaps on culinary publishing and brand-extension strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EatOffbeat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eat-offbeat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 Eat Offbeat