TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2021 /CNW/ – General Assembly Holdings Limited (“GA Pizza” or the “Company”), a local Toronto food scene darling turned booming consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) brand in the direct-to-consumer home-meal solutions space, announced today that it has closed an oversubscribed $13 million Series A round, far exceeding its $3.5 million target. Gravitas Securities Inc. led the financing, securing a strong and diverse shareholder base for the omnichannel brand that launched its pizza subscription business at the tail end of 2020.
Funds generated through the Series A will allow the company to secure a wholly owned master production facility and increase production to 5,000 units per day by the second quarter of 2021, and 10,000 units per day by the third quarter of 2021, allowing for significant growth of the company’s “GA Pizza Club” subscription membership base, and scaling of the Company’s grocery sales across Canada. Alongside end-to-end expansion plans, GA Pizza will redouble their efforts to offer more plant-based products, and continue to push the industry standard for sustainability forward with 100% divertible consumer packaging.
Founded by sommelier, pizzaiolo, and franchise restaurant wunderkind Ali Khan Lalani in 2017, GA Pizza’s naturally leavened pies bring pizza lovers together for inspired culinary experiences.
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Lalani deftly steered the popular restaurant—exalted as “Toronto’s best pizza” in 2018—through the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic with strategic pivots into CPG and grocery which led to the development of a Chef-driven premium, ready-to-eat frozen pizza line, and later, adding on a direct to consumer offering with their innovative pizza subscription service. The direct-to-consumer model’s rapid growth—amassing over 2,000 subscribers by January 2021—is bolstered by a robust retention strategy, including a members-only Pizza of the Month program.
“We believe that everyday culinary moments should be easy, and still delicious,” said Lalani, Founder, and CEO of GA Pizza. “We’re constantly striving for ‘better’ in every area of our business. Whether we’re re-thinking the frozen pizza category from the ground up, enhancing our e-commerce experience, or diverting waste from landfills through responsible packaging solutions.”
“Ali Khan helms an extraordinary team that shares in his passion for innovation within the hospitality and food technology sectors. He’s a visionary—with great timing—who’s committed to building the CPG product of the future,” said Ted Hastings, Chairman of the GA Pizza Board of Directors.
“GA Pizza’s strong leadership team coupled with demand for premium and elevated culinary experiences at home made this a tremendously exciting opportunity for our investor base,” said Kia Besharat, Senior Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets Origination at Gravitas Securities Inc. “The unprecedented reception is a strong validator of the business model and the differentiated value proposition GA Pizza brings to the table.”
GA Pizza has invented a new space within the direct-to-consumer CPG market, and is perfectly poised to own it for the foreseeable future. By scaling CPG offerings, striving to offer better products—including frequent forays into the plant-based market, being an industry leader in sustainability initiatives, strategic brand partnerships, and through territory expansion, General Assembly is constantly defining and redefining what it means to be a restaurant-to-consumer brand.
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