Spring Recap - PPP, Recent Press, Expanded Nationwide, and More
This Spring has definitely been one for the history books! It’s been about three months since the nation went into shut down following the outbreak of Covid-19. And what a whirlwind it has been! Here’s a quick recap...
Supporting Frontline Workers
Along with Paleta, our sister company in Los Angeles, we helped send over 1000 care packages to workers on the frontline via the non-profit initiative Fuel The Frontline. We also sent meals directly to workers at Mount Sinai ICU, NYC Health + Hospitals Coney Island, and SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Expanded Delivery and Launched Nationwide Shipping
We felt the impact of coronavirus on our sales almost immediately. Many of our long-time clients and recurring subscribers fled New York to areas just outside our delivery zone. We quickly ramped up our expansion plans. By April our couriers began delivering meals across Long Island (including The Hamptons), throughout Queens and The Bronx, plus to parts of Westchester and Connecticut. Then one month later, we started shipping nationwide! Our newest three day program, Feel Good Fix, has been a hit! New clients from Ohio, Alabama, Florida, California and more have been ordering and the program was sold out for three straight weeks. We’re currently undergoing a packaging revamp so that we can ship even more of our meals nationwide.
Revenue Increase and Disaster Relief Funds
Despite the initial drop in revenue at the beginning of the pandemic, we remain in a fantastic cash position for several reasons.
First, our acquisition of Paleta early this year immediately resulted in a big increase in revenue. Our sales numbers from January through April of this year reached over $1.37 million. That’s 2.4 times our revenue from the same period in 2019!
Second, we received a relatively quick infusion of cash from the SBA after applying for 2 programs designed to help small business owners – the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The PPP money has covered all of our payroll and rent expenses from mid-April through June, and the EIDL is allowing us to invest more heavily in our expansion plans via a low interest, 30 year loan.
Commitment to Diversity and Make Space Pledge
Our founder Caroll Lee took a stand immediately in solidarity with many around the world that real change is overdue. We sent out a statement to our community and received a great response for our promptness and leadership. As members of the wellness space and believers in food as medicine, what we practice daily stems from deep, traditional roots. We took a long pause to listen, learn, and reflect on how we must do better to honor our origins and support different cultures both internally and in our industry. The Make Space Pledge is our active promise of these words.
Featured in the Press and Community
We were thrilled Forbes included us in their round up of meal services to keep you healthy at home. Hampton’s Magazine also included Provenance Meals in their Top 5 List for must-haves this summer. Our founder Caroll Lee joined female founders from The Lieu and Wandering Barman to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on the SheWorx Female Founder Webinar. She also pitched to Scott Kitun of Technori on his weekly live WGN radio show and was featured in their new IGTV pitch series. On the Mind of a Mentor podcast, Marla Isackson and Caroll chat about Caroll’s past and how she has grown Provenance organically - without any investment - over the last 7 years.