Freshly
Gone since January 2023 — the last deliveries went out on the 21st. The kitchens were folded into a foodservice venture, and the subscription that fed lockdown America never came back.
Last verified Nov 7, 2026
Chef-cooked, never-frozen meals by subscription box, founded in 2012 — the pandemic's favorite dinner shortcut, which is exactly why Nestlé paid close to a billion dollars for it in 2020.
Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’00s & later
📅 Timeline
- 2012Founded by Michael Wystrach and Carter Comstock.
- 2016The subscription was shipping chef-cooked, never-frozen meals to 28 states.
- 2020Nestlé acquired Freshly on October 30 for $950 million plus up to $550 million in earn-outs — a pandemic-peak bet on meal delivery.
- 2022The Maryland distribution center closed in December with 454 layoffs; days later, Freshly's homepage announced the service was ceasing operations.
- 2023Final orders January 17, final deliveries January 21; the operation folded into a foodservice joint venture with L Catterton.
❓ People also ask
Why did Freshly shut down?
Nestlé never gave a detailed reason — the homepage farewell began 'with a heavy heart.' The company ended the consumer service about 26 months after the $950 million acquisition and pointed what remained at foodservice through a joint venture.
Was Freshly frozen food?
No — the pitch was chef-prepared meals shipped fresh, never frozen. It lives in this aisle the way Schwan's home delivery does: the dinner-logistics end of the freezer economy.
Can you still order Freshly?
No. The site is dead and the consumer subscription never returned in any form.
🧾 Sources
- Food Business News, Freshly shutting down meal deliveries (2023)
- Food Processing, Nestle Ends Freshly's Home Meal Delivery Service (2023)
- PR Newswire (Nestlé release), Nestlé USA acquires Freshly, a pioneer in healthy prepared meals (2020)
- TechCrunch, Nestlé acquires healthy meal startup Freshly for up to $1.5B (2020)