Scan & cook meal firm to open Utah assembly facility

A company offering a smart oven and subscription food deliveries will cook up 200 jobs over the next five years as it places operations in Utah.

Tovala will use a 230,000-square-foot facility in West Valley City for meal assembly, food packaging and shipping operations.

The announcement about the $10 million project was made by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) and the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah).

Founded in 2015, Chicago-based Tovala offers weekly food doorstep delivery subscriptions and an oven that allows users to scan labels so that the meals are cooked perfectly. The oven offers five different cooking modes — steam, bake, broil, toast and reheat — and can scan-to-cook nearly 1,000 brand-name grocery items. The company’s website says the meals take under a minute to prepare, and the cooking takes 20 minutes or less.

The website last week was offering a $99 starter kit, which included an oven, and its meal plans start at about $12 per meal.

“We are very excited to launch our first facility in Utah and play a role in the local economy,” Taryn Aronson, Tovala CEO, said in a prepared statement. “We conducted a thorough analysis of all major Western markets and chose Utah for its strong labor force and prime location, helping to optimize shipping efficiencies and improve the customer experience. We look forward to growing our business through this opening, and welcoming new members to the Tovala team.”

The company in June 2020 raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by Finistere Ventures, and in December had a $30 million Series C round led by Left Lane Capital.

“Tovala’s ingenuity and commitment to promoting economic excellence in Utah are impressive,” said Dan Hemmert, Go Utah’s executive director. “The state’s robust and diverse economy will greatly benefit the company as a distribution hub and will help the company reach new markets.”

“Utah’s food production businesses form a significant part of our manufacturing and distribution sector,” said Theresa A. Foxley, president and CEO of EDCUtah. “Tovala will find a young, healthy, hard-working workforce and robust transportation infrastructure to support their growth strategies.”

Tom Dischmann with CBRE represented the landlord and Matt McAfee with CBRE represented the tenant in the transaction. Colby Cooley, vice president of business development, led the project for EDCUtah.

People interested in jobs at the company can access www.tovala.com/careers.