How Fraîche survived three near-death moments to become a national player in corporate food
Fraîche launched in 2019 with a clear value proposition: bring fresh, premium meals from curated New York restaurants directly into offices via a network of smart fridges combined with a hub system. The timing was everything — and then COVID arrived six months after launch. The company rebuilt, scaled cautiously, and by the time of its acquisition in 2025 operated just over 20 smart fridges in New York, already doubling that figure within months of joining CookUnity.
The near-death experiences did not stop with the pandemic. When Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed, Fraîche had its entire cash reserve in that institution. "We had all of our money in this bank," Tximista Lizarazu recalls, "and when unfortunately they went bankrupt, it was a tough 48, 72 hours until we understood that we were going to be able to have our money back." A subsequent fundraising round — conducted with only a few weeks of runway remaining — was saved when a single investor signed a significant check in under 24 hours. These episodes did not weaken Fraîche's trajectory; they forged the resilience that made the business fundable and ultimately acquirable.
The product conviction never wavered. With 10,000 unique monthly users and triple-digit growth sustained across three consecutive years, Fraîche demonstrated that corporate smart fridges were not a niche novelty but a scalable infrastructure play — one that became more relevant, not less, as hybrid work reshaped office life.
Listen to the full episode on Listenly →Why hybrid work transformed corporate food into a strategic benefit — and what 50% market penetration actually means
Before the pandemic, the corporate food market was dominated by large cafeterias and collective catering operators. Hybrid work dismantled that infrastructure logic: companies no longer needed permanent, high-capacity dining operations, but they still needed a reason to bring employees back through the door. Food became that reason.
Today, 50% of US companies offer a meal benefit to employees. In major urban markets like New York City, that figure reaches 75%. This is not a fringe perk — it is a mainstream expectation in competitive hiring environments. The smart fridge model addresses this need with a format that is flexible, scalable, and requires no kitchen build-out: any office with more than 30 daily employees and willingness to subsidize can deploy a unit. Fraîche by CookUnity positions itself precisely at this intersection of employee experience and operational simplicity.
The next step in the product roadmap combines 24/7 fridge access with hot meal click-and-collect options in dense urban markets — New York, San Francisco, and Chicago — while extending the same model to underserved food deserts where residents currently drive 30 minutes to access quality food.
"The culture in an acquisition makes or breaks the acquisition. The goal is not to replace one culture with another, but blend it so we can take the best of both."— Tximista Lizarazu, Founder of Fraîche and Director of Business Development B2B at CookUnity
From 20 smart fridges to 95% US coverage: what the CookUnity acquisition actually unlocks
Fraîche's acquisition by CookUnity in 2025 was not a distress sale — it was a strategic step function. CookUnity operates seven kitchens across the United States plus a newly opened kitchen in Toronto, producing more than one million meals per week and delivering 80% of those meals through its own driver network. It generates $600 million in annual recurring revenue and serves up to 100,000 customers. With more than 300 recipes available, CookUnity resolves the fundamental limitation Fraîche faced as a local New York operator: menu diversity at national scale.
For Tximista Lizarazu, the integration's success rested on a deliberate people-first approach. A three-month post-acquisition roadmap prioritized rapid team integration and a seamless handoff of 100% of existing clients — eliminating any uncertainty about service continuity. The B2B team expanded to 12 people, with account executives segmented by geography (NYC, East, West) and a dedicated national account manager for factory clients, underpinned by distinct Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and clear performance dashboards.
CookUnity's CEO made explicit what most acquirers leave implicit: he asked Tximista to bring Fraîche's entrepreneurial culture into the group rather than simply conform to it. That request reflected an understanding that the culture which built Fraîche — speed, product conviction, direct client relationships — was precisely what CookUnity needed to make its B2B expansion succeed.
The founder's M&A playbook: what to do before, during, and after an acquisition
Tximista Lizarazu is direct about the lessons from his acquisition experience. The first is timing: founders must begin conversations with potential strategic acquirers early — in parallel with fundraising rounds, not after them. The process always takes significantly longer than anticipated, and starting late compresses the options available at the most critical moment.
The second is communication management during due diligence. Transparency with the team is non-negotiable, but it must be calibrated: regular updates that signal control and stability, without exposing confidential deal terms that could create anxiety or distraction. The goal is that employees remain focused on execution while the deal progresses.
The third — and Tximista Lizarazu's most emphatic point — is culture. An acquisition that replaces one culture with another destroys the very capabilities the acquirer paid for. The right approach blends the best of both organizations, preserves entrepreneurial momentum, and treats integration as a talent retention challenge as much as an operational one. For founders evaluating potential acquirers, understanding how the other side thinks about culture is as important as evaluating the financial terms.