Providoor relaunches

Gourmet food delivery company Providoor was a champion of Covid lockdowns. The food delivery marketplace enabled Australians to access the nation’s best restaurants from home. Launched in Melbourne by celebrity chef Shane Delia amid the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, with ongoing staffing issues affecting the hospitality industry, as well as lingering health concerns, this service offered an alternative for customers looking to enjoy a nice meal without needing to leave the house and continued to see success after lockdown. However, in April this year, the company collapsed as demand receded and discretionary spending started its downward spiral which resulted in a major investor pulling out, leaving Providoor with over $6 million in debt, including almost $4.4 million in unused gift vouchers. 

Six months on, as of October 23, 2023, Providoor has risen from the death under entrepreneur and businessman, Sam Benjamin, Founder and Managing Director of Sydney’s Seventh Street Ventures. Benjamin purchased the business back in April for an undisclosed sum, and it now sits in his portfolio alongside music publisher Rolling Stone, Brag Media, gourmet food test-platform, Kaspa, and a range of other ventures.

The company announced its triumphant return with a relaunch campaign backed by a host of celebrity chefs including Matt Preston, Silvia Colloca, Anna Polyviou, Luke Nguyen, Gary Mehigan, Manu Feildel, Justin Narayan, and George Calombaris. 

As well as offering its famous gourmet meals from high profile restaurants, Providoor now offers frozen meal orders using its celebrity chef’s famous recipes crafted in its new kitchens. 

“The way food is prepared has not really changed for thousands of years,” said Benjamin. “We have worked with famous chefs and leading food technologists to disrupt this model. We have developed processes that allow us to prepare, store and finish restaurant quality food in a way that has never been done before. It’s an absolute game-changer to have this many chefs and personalised menus under one banner. It is revolutionary in stepping up the quality of food available to Australians for delivery fresh to their home.”

He adds: “Over the last three years we have invested time and resources travelling the world researching, testing, tasting, sourcing, preparing and then re-testing and delivering high quality food with high quality speed and service through test-platform, Kaspa. We have assembled a highly experienced team from all over the world – operations and culinary – all committed to the bold aspirations of the business with an innovative chapter to drive the full Providoor purpose and potential.”