ICA accelerates Global Grub, a globally-inspired, woman-of-color-owned, DIY cooking kit maker.
Oakland, CA – ICA is thrilled to announce our newest investment: a $300K growth capital deployment in Global Grub. On a mission to bring people and cultures together through the joy and art of cooking, Global Grub’s cook-at-home kits—which include kits for making mochi, churros, sushi, ravioli, and more—bring the global cooking experience into the home kitchen. Global Grub’s first-mover advantage in the growing DIY cooking space and its promising growth trajectory, make it a great investment for ICA, the latest made in support of our mission to close the racial and gender wealth gaps.
CEO and founder, Carley Sheehy started Global Grub in 2012 by leveraging her passion for travel and cooking, combined with her corporate experience working on household CPG brands like Nestle and Kellogg’s. As a world traveler and foodie, Carley dreaded the process of sourcing hard-to-find ingredients and tools to make her favorite international dishes and knew there had to be a way to make cooking adventures more accessible and more fun. That’s how Global Grub was born.
Before receiving investment from ICA, Carley participated in the Accelerator at ICA. To date, seven Accelerator companies have received funding from ICA and all together Accelerator alumni companies have raised more than $30MM in growth capital. This year alone, ICA has moved money to 13 companies, every one of them woman- or person of color-owned.
“Joining the Accelerator at ICA has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for this business. As a entrepreneur I’m always in the reactive mode,” said Carley Sheehy, Global Grub CEO. “The Accelerator allowed me to take a step back and—not just make a long-term plan—but actually connect me with the network, skills, and capital to make it happen.”
ICA’s $300K infusion represents Global Grub’s first outside fundraising round. Carley plans to use the capital to make key hires in sales, marketing, and operations, boost manufacturing, and double down on the fast-growing DTC line of products. ICA’s investment is structured to maximize impact for Global Grub and ensure its long-term success.
The investment is a unique combination of equity investment and flexible working capital, designed to provide the long-term benefit of an equity investment and the immediate cashflow impact of debt capital. ICA’s investment team worked closely with Carley to tailor a capital structure that will allow her team to meet growing holiday shopping demand without taking on expensive debt or giving up additional equity.
“Carley has executed the perfect swan dive, jumping from her corporate job to pursue her lifelong dream of starting her own company,” said John Gough, Chief Investment Officer at ICA. “She has demonstrated such tenacity, intelligence, and resilience in building her business. It has been a joy for ICA to partner with her, provide advisory services, and support her with innovative and patient capital."
As a nonprofit venture capital Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), ICA makes investments that support our mission to accelerate great businesses to close the racial and gender wealth gaps. Global Grub represents the perfect alignment of mission and business fundamentals.
Carley has developed a business with an exciting growth trajectory and proven her commitment to growing her business for the good of the community: Global Grub is committed to providing living wages, health, and retirement benefits for all employees and has already budgeted 12% of profits to be distributed as profit-sharing for future employees. Carley sees Global Grub as a platform for celebrating cultural diversity, and creating jobs for women and people of color.
For ICA, the Global Grub deal represents an impactful addition to our expanding Growth Fund. The Growth Fund provides access to growth equity investments of $100,000 to $1,000,000 with a focus on serving entrepreneurs of color and women. Our investment strategy intentionally focuses on racial and gender equity, and supports companies that are committed to our shared mission of wealth creation and distribution to a diverse workforce.
Learn more about Carley’s story and shop Global Grub cooking kits at globalgrub.com. To read more about ICA, our investments, our programs, and our companies visit ica.fund.
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