Eastman Egg Company Raises $1.5M from Hyde Park Angels to Take on $30B Breakfast Market
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A lot of times, venture capitalists will bet on the promise of a company or idea over a pre-existing product; in other words, they’ll invest in the chicken before the egg. But, occasionally, they’ll just fund the egg.
This morning, the Eastman Egg Company, the Chicago-based fast-casual breakfast sandwich brand, announced that it has raised a $1.5 million Series 1-A from Hyde Park Angels. SLoFIG, the Sustainable Local Food Investment Group, participated in the round, along with previous investors Bluestein and Associates, Caretta Partners, JumpStart Ventures, and Trunk Club co-founder John Tucker. Eastman, which began as a food truck in 2013, currently has two storefronts, as well as a cafe that’s located inside Trunk Club.
The company is also known for its proprietary mobile app that uses geo-based technology to remove pick-up times from the ordering process. The app alerts the Eastman kitchen when the customer is approaching, allowing for orders to be cooked at the exact right time.
“Our core business is still great food,” CEO and Founder Hunter Swartz told Chicago Inno. “But we take a mindset and an approach that will resonate throughout the venture community. We use digital experiences to drive how customers experience our food, restaurants, and brand. We frame ourselves as a growth company.”
And like a typical growth-stage startup, Eastman is focused on expansion. The company will use the funding to open two new locations, launch the next version of its mobile app, and accelerate growth.
Added Swartz, “We are delivering a radically better breakfast by combining locally sourced and humanely raised ingredients with empathetic hospitality and technology to seamlessly integrate The Eastman Egg Company experience into our customers’ lives. This raise lets us constantly deliver on the perfect breakfast sandwich, even as we grow beyond Chicago.”
Outside of Chicago, Eastman has it eyes on the $30 billion breakfast market.
Explained Hyde Park Angels Member Kevin van Eekeren in a statement, “Eastman Egg is uniquely positioned to dominate the enormous fast-casual market, both because of its all-star team’s focus on developing some of the most efficient and hyper-focused operations we have seen, and its understanding of the breakfast space.” Eekern, who is also the CEO of Chicago private investment group Fulcrum Investing, has also joined the Eastman board.