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LAYTON — A fast-growing freezer meal preparation delivery service based in northern Utah says it's already delivered over 2.5 million meals to customers across the Intermountain West since it launched five years ago, but the company is now looking at expanding to a wider audience.
Beehive Meals announced Thursday that it plans to expand operations in its existing service area, providing statewide service to Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada beginning next month. Once the phase is complete — and it's unclear when that will be complete — the company will begin work to branch out to California, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
Additional expansions will be considered and announced after that.
Allyse Jackson, the company's founder, said the expansion is tied to a shift in delivery operations. The company plans to ditch an internal logistics system that it has always used and oversee its own shipping, making it easier to ship beyond its service footprint. It may also speed up the delivery process.
"Transitioning to shipping is a huge step for our company (and) one that we have been working toward for a long time," she said in a statement. "This change will allow us to offer a better customer experience, providing more convenience through quicker shipping times and the ability to reach new customers across the nation."
Jackson founded the company in 2019, focusing on slow-cooker freezer meals to make it easier for families to prepare for dinner. She explained on the company website that it started as a way to help pay the mortgage while her husband was looking for a new job.
She started by advertising about a dozen meal kits on social media, which people could purchase via direct mobile payments. It wasn't meant to be a long-term venture, but her kits were popular enough that she ultimately joined a meal-kit delivery industry, which, according to the business magazine Inc., is now valued at $8.7 billion.
Despite joining a crowded field, Beehive Meals has taken off regionally. Inc. profiled Beehive Meals because it debuted at No. 399 on the magazine's annual "Inc. 5000" list released on Tuesday. The outlet reported that the Utah company's revenue jumped by 1,103% over the past three years.
It also has grown to employ over 100 people across its service footprint, the outlet notes.
The list features the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country based on percentage growth, given that they were generating revenue by March 2020 and they meet other conditions. Only companies that were U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit and independent by the end of 2023 are considered for the list.
Nearly 100 Utah companies landed on Inc.'s 2024 rankings. Beehive Meals ranked 13th in growth among Utah companies and 18th among U.S. food and beverage companies.
