Lish
Lish is a Seattle-based workplace food platform that provides corporate catering, recurring subscription meal programs, and rotating PopUp restaurant services to offices in the Seattle metro, sourcing from a curated network of local chefs and restaurants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lish does
Lish is a Seattle-based corporate catering and workplace food platform founded in 2014 by former Amazon employees. The company connects offices in the Seattle metro area (including Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland) with a curated network of dozens of local chefs and restaurants, operating three primary service models: Subscription Catering (recurring managed meal programs billed monthly at $12-$15 per employee), PopUp Restaurants (daily rotating on-site restaurant pop-ups in office lobbies with optional employer subsidies of $0-$10), and Catering On-Demand (one-time family-style or boxed meal orders for meetings and events, priced at $12-$25 per person with an 18% service fee and a $200 order minimum). Lish monetizes via transaction fees, subscription recurring revenue, marketplace commissions from PopUp restaurant partners, and optional professional services such as on-site attendants, chafing dishes, and cleanup. Additional revenue comes from premium add-ons and a subscription leftover-donation program.
The platform is built on a cloud-based technology stack centered on a customer-facing dashboard, with proprietary operational features including real-time GPS delivery tracking with SMS notifications, native Slack and Google/Outlook Calendar integrations, and a machine learning portion-forecasting algorithm that predicts daily food quantities for PopUp locations to minimize waste. A feedback-driven recommendation engine uses post-meal ratings and NLP on free-text comments to personalize menu curation for subscription clients. Operational scale includes 3,000,000+ total meals served, 15,000+ meals served per week, 100+ curated menus, 97.8% on-time delivery within 20 minutes, and a 4.6-star average meal rating. The customer base spans 100+ Seattle-area companies across enterprise and mid-market segments, with named logos including Nutanix, CBRE, OfferUp, Qualtrics, PicMonkey, and Zipwhip.
Lish is a privately held Washington-incorporated company (Lish Inc.), backed by 500 Startups, Alumni Ventures, Portland Seed Fund, Green D Ventures, Lighter Capital, and local angel investors, with cumulative disclosed funding of roughly $727K across 2014-2018. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, and the company operates from a single Seattle headquarters with no disclosed geographic expansion beyond the Seattle metro. The go-to-market motion is hybrid: account-executive-led sales for subscription enterprise deals, complemented by self-serve online ordering for on-demand and PopUp customers, with a B2B2C element in the PopUp model where employees order and pay directly.
Lish firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lish
- Legal name
- Lish Inc.
- Website
- https://lishfood.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lish is a Seattle-based workplace food platform that provides corporate catering, recurring subscription meal programs, and rotating PopUp restaurant services to offices in the Seattle metro, sourcing from a curated network of local chefs and restaurants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lish industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Corporate Catering Services
- NAICS
- Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (72231)
- SIC
- Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)
Keywords
Where Lish is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lish business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Catering Transaction Fees: Lish charges an 18% service fee on all catering orders, which covers delivery and set-up costs. The base meal pricing ranges from $12-$25 per person depending on menu selection.
- Subscription Catering: Recurring revenue from corporate clients subscribing to regular meal programs (1-5 days per week). Clients pay per-employee rates ($12-$15) plus service fees for managed recurring catering service.
- PopUp Restaurant Commission: Revenue share from PopUp Restaurant model where restaurants pay to participate in the platform and gain access to office customers, while Lish provides staffing, setup, and cashiering services.
- Professional Services: Additional revenue from optional services including on-site attendants, cleanup service, chafing dishes, linens, and leftover donation programs for subscription clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Catering On-Demand - Per person pricing with service fee |
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription Catering - Per employee recurring model |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | PopUp Restaurants - Employee-paid with optional subsidy |
| Unit Pricing | Per order | Premium Services - Add-on offerings |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Lish product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lish is a curated online marketplace and corporate catering platform that connects offices in the Seattle metro area with local chefs and restaurants for workplace meal programs. It sells Subscription Catering (recurring managed meal service), PopUp Restaurants (rotating daily restaurant pop-ups in office lobbies), and Catering On-Demand (one-time event meals), with chef-crafted food, professional delivery and setup, dietary accommodation, and technology-driven logistics including GPS tracking and ML-based portion forecasting.
Product overview
Lish is a corporate workplace food platform offering three core services: Subscription Catering (recurring managed meal delivery), PopUp Restaurants (rotating daily restaurant pop-ups in office lobbies), and Catering On-Demand (one-time meal ordering for events). These are supported by sub-product meal categories covering lunch, breakfast, happy hour, box lunches, and meetings/events, all sourced from a curated network of over 50 local Seattle chefs and restaurants. The platform is powered by a customer dashboard with integrated Slack and calendar tools for menu visibility and feedback, GPS delivery tracking, and AI-driven portion forecasting for PopUp operations and personalized menu recommendations for subscription clients. A social-impact layer (Lish Cares) adds food donation and sustainable packaging. The product architecture is a unified platform with distinct service modes rather than modular add-ons.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Subscription Catering Recurring managed meal service for offices that order catered meals 1-5 days per week. Lish automates meal planning, curates menus to team tastes and dietary needs, handles ordering and delivery, and provides professional on-site setup with optional cleanup. Pricing is $12-$15 per employee, with the office covering the cost.
- PopUp Restaurants A daily rotating restaurant program where a different partner restaurant sets up in an office lobby or lunchroom 3-5 days per week. Employees order and pay directly at the pop-up, with optional office subsidy of $0-$10 per meal. Lish provides an attendant for setup, cashiering, and breakdown. Restaurants pay a commission to participate and gain access to office customers.
- Catering On-Demand One-time family-style or individually packaged meal ordering for meetings, events, and corporate gatherings. Customers select from curated menus online, specify headcount and dietary needs, and Lish handles delivery and professional setup. Menus range from $12-$25 per person with an 18% service fee and a $200 order minimum.
- Lunch Catering Corporate lunch delivery service featuring family-style or individually boxed meals from local Seattle chefs and restaurants, with professional setup and dietary accommodation for weekly meetings, employee events, and team meals.
- Breakfast Catering Morning meal catering for office meetings and events, featuring continental breakfast, hot meals, bagel bars, pastries, and other breakfast options from partner chefs, with delivery and professional setup.
- Happy Hour Catering Office happy hour catering featuring appetizers, snacks, platters, and optional full bartender service with cocktails, beer, and wine for office social events and post-meeting wind-downs.
- Box Lunch Catering Individually packaged meal delivery for time-sensitive meetings, featuring grab-and-go options including sandwiches, salads, Vietnamese bowls, taco boxes, Mediterranean meals, and Thai dishes, freshly prepared and delivered to the office.
- Meeting & Event Catering Full-service catering for corporate events including custom menu selection, delivery, professional setup, and optional on-site attendant service for meetings, special occasions, and team gatherings.
- Lish Cares (Sustainability & Donation Program) Sustainability and community impact program encompassing food donation to local nonprofits (Union Gospel Mission, 1,200+ meals donated per month), use of 100% compostable, recyclable, or reusable plates, bowls, and utensils, and support for local small-business chefs and restaurants.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% of employees rate Lish as one of their favorite workplace perks
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Lish
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Lish technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
Lish partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Union Gospel MissionminorLish partners with the Seattle shelter at Union Gospel Mission for their leftover donation program. When there are leftovers from catering orders, Lish donates them to help feed those in need in the community. This partnership supports Lish's community impact and sustainability goals.
- Ethan StowellcoreJames Beard-nominated chef and restaurateur Ethan Stowell is a key partner chef. He oversees 15 popular Seattle restaurants and provides signature menu items like Taco Bar and Wings & Pizza Party for Lish catering. Chef Stowell has described Lish as an outstanding partner for chefs to expand their reach.
- Local Seattle Chefs & RestaurantscoreLish partners with dozens of local chefs and restaurants including Kay Kim (Kay Catering), Frankie & Edgar (CocinaMX32), Sheldon Simeon (Tin Roof), and many others. Partners receive on average $130,000 in incremental revenue per year and access to 100+ corporate clients. The majority of customer payments go directly to the chefs who cook the food.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lish competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ezCater: Largest corporate catering marketplace in the U.S., connecting offices with thousands of restaurants for group orders. Most direct competitor to Lish in on-demand corporate catering, with national scale and a similar tech-enabled marketplace model.
- Fooda: Operates daily rotating pop-up restaurants in corporate office lobbies, closely mirroring Lish's PopUp Restaurants product. Targets the same mid-to-large employer segment and runs a similar B2B2C model.
- Cater2.me: Provides customized corporate meal programs with recurring delivery to tech and enterprise offices. Overlaps directly with Lish's Subscription Catering offering and curated local-vendor approach.
- ZeroCater: Workplace meal programs provider offering managed catering, snacks, and beverages to corporate clients. Competes with Lish in subscription catering for enterprise accounts, with broader geographic reach.
- Hungry: Connects offices with independent local chefs for group meals, with a marketplace model similar to Lish's chef curation. Targets the same tech and enterprise customer base with on-demand and subscription offerings.
- Foodee: Corporate catering marketplace focused on group orders from local restaurants, with strong presence in Canadian and U.S. tech hubs. Competes directly with Lish's Catering On-Demand product and offers similar curated menus.
- EAT Club: Office lunch delivery service providing individually packaged meals from local restaurants to corporate clients. Closely parallels Lish's box lunch and on-demand catering services in tech-office settings.
Emerging players
- OfficeEats: Corporate catering platform aggregating restaurant options for office meal orders, with a focus on self-serve online ordering. Smaller-scale direct competitor in the office catering space.
Broad incumbents
- DoorDash for Work: DoorDash's B2B offering enables group orders from restaurants for offices and events. Represents a well-capitalized broad incumbent moving into Lish's territory with a much larger restaurant supply network.
- Uber Eats for Business: Uber's B2B food delivery arm serving corporate meal programs and event catering. Overlaps with Lish on individual office ordering but lacks the curated-chef and subscription-catering specialization.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lish social profiles
Digital presenceLish financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lish leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lish funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lish 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 Lish
What does Lish do?
Lish is a curated online marketplace and corporate catering platform that connects offices in the Seattle metro area with local chefs and restaurants for workplace meal programs. It sells Subscription Catering (recurring managed meal service), PopUp Restaurants (rotating daily restaurant pop-ups in office lobbies), and Catering On-Demand (one-time event meals), with chef-crafted food, professional delivery and setup, dietary accommodation, and technology-driven logistics including GPS tracking and ML-based portion forecasting.
Is Lish a public or private company?
Lish is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lish founded?
Lish was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lish based?
Lish is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lish make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Catering Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are subscription Catering, popUp Restaurant Commission and professional Services.
Who are Lish's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ezCater, Fooda, Cater2.me, ZeroCater, Hungry, Foodee and EAT Club. OfficeEats is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are DoorDash for Work and Uber Eats for Business.
Does Lish have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lish.
What industry is Lish in?
Lish's product category is Corporate Catering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAGAA, Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise). Its NAICS code is 722320 and its SIC code is 4210.