Gatheredtable, a Seattle startup backed by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz that aims to make meal planning less stressful, said its software has been acquired by diet and weight loss company Medifast.
Gatheredtable would not disclose terms of the deal but said the company is pleased with the outcome. Gatheredtable will continue to exist as a company and is working on additional licensing deals with companies in the grocery, cookware and kitchen appliance sectors.
Customers enter specific personal details about family size, food preferences and other information and then Gatheredtable comes back with recipes that can be shifted around and customized. The company also offers a smart grocery list feature and grocery delivery services.
Medifast says it is a doctor-developed weight loss solution that offers a variety of diet plans. Acquiring Gatheredtable’s software makes sense as it beefs up Medifast’s technology options and makes it easier for its customers to plan healthy meals.
The deal comes amid a proliferation of companies looking to use technology and logistics to simplify meal-planning, mostly through sending customers ingredients and recipes together. The most well known is the meal kit company Blue Apron, which has had a rough time since going public last year. Amazon jumped into meal kits last year as well, offering its own service for delivery and selling kits at its Amazon Go store.
Grocery delivery has also become a popular service. Amazon has been doing it for years through AmazonFresh. Major retailers like Kroger, Walmart and Target all offer their own delivery services as well.
