Sunday Supper Taps Former Good Planet Exec As CEO, Launches $2.5 Million Seed Round

Frozen plant-based Italian food producer Sunday Supper has appointed former Good Planet COO Spencer Oberg as CEO as it readies to launch a $2.5 million seed round supporting the expansion of its brick-and-mortar distribution footprint.

Additionally, the brand has named Chris Hays as CMO and Matt Williams as head of sales. Hays previously served as senior director of brand and content at Farm Sanctuary, while Williams held senior leadership positions at Tattooed Chef and Beecher’s.

“Spencer has this amazing business ethos and we’ve always had an incredible working relationship with a lot of trust. His extensive background in helping to build Good Planet made a lot of sense. It’s time to take [Sunday Supper] to the next level,” said Richard Klein, co-founder and chief brand and product officer at Sunday Supper.

Klein and Oberg first connected while Oberg was still at Good Planet, collaborating on Sunday Supper’s new Mozza Fritto appetizer, a vegan take on the mozzarella stick crafted with Good Planet’s plant-based cheese.

“When it was time for me to transition from my job over there, it seemed like a natural fit to come [to Sunday Supper] and apply the wonderful experience and expertise I had gained into building this product and brand that I’m in love with,” said Oberg. “I think the sky’s the limit.”

Founded in 2021 by Klein alongside marketing and brand communications professional Florian Radke, Sunday Supper began as a direct-to-consumer business selling plant-based Italian Sausage Lasagna on its website. Within the first two months of launch, Sunday Supper had sold nearly 3,000 lasagnas at $45, plus roughly $60 for shipping.

However, the high cost and lack of sustainability of shipping frozen food products across the country sparked a shift to brick-and-mortar retail in 2022. Sunday Supper’s first retail account was Fresh Market in the Southeast, and the brand has since grown to 600 doors nationwide, including Giant, Fresh Direct and Central Market, among others.

The Los Angeles-based brand expects to reach 1,000 doors by year’s end with a focus on natural and specialty retailers.

“We want to be hyper-focused on those channels because that’s where the main consumer is for this type of gourmet, healthy, indulgent plant-forward product,” said Oberg. “Making sure that we gain a lot of good traction there [is important] before spreading too thin in conventional and mass.”

Capturing a Broader Audience

Whereas a number of plant-based brands lead with the fact they are plant-based, Sunday Supper has chosen to call out that its offerings are chef-crafted, making the plant-based attribute secondary. The brand partnered with award-winning Italian chef Celestino Drago to help create its final product, marking Drago’s first and only commercial food endeavor.

“We’ve seen with the consumer that [the products’] healthy, nutritious and indulgent quality attributes are resonating very well,” said Oberg. “The fact that it happens to be plant-based, vegan and dairy-free is a benefit that we see as a great way to help people eat healthier and do better for the planet without giving anything up.”

Since launch, Sunday Supper’s product portfolio has grown to seven SKUs, including the aforementioned Italian Sausage Lasagna and Mozza Fritto, Three Cheeses Lasagna, Italian Cheese Ravioli, Italian Mushroom Ravioli and Italian Baked Manicotti.

Its flagship lasagna, which contains five servings per box, is a premium product with a suggested retail price of $17.99. Sunday Supper is venturing into single-serve products to achieve greater household penetration.

“The idea of singles is to compete with brands that are solely focused on [single serves], as well as to increase trial and [drive] better margins,” said Klein.

Oberg added, “We had valuable feedback from some of the largest natural retailers suggesting [singles] would be a very good strategic move on our part and something they’d be quite interested in.”

Available in four varieties – Italian Sausage Lasagna, Three Cheeses Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan and Fusilli Alla Vodka – the single-serve products have a more accessible price of under $10.

Additionally, the brand is rolling out a collection of appetizers – dubbed the “Frittos” line – that includes products like zucchini fries and fried ravioli in addition to the mozzarella sticks. According to Oberg, the new products fit into two key categories on which buyers are currently focused: snacking and appetizers.

“Early signs from the launch of the Mozza Fritto are proving this sentiment to be correct. [The product] has quickly become a top mover and is in high demand. It’s very early, but there are very exciting signals,” said Oberg.

Beyond retail, the brand is eyeing foodservice as a means of diversifying its revenue streams. According to Oberg, there is a “great market fit” in college and university grab-and-go sections, particularly with the new Frittos line.

Supporting Growth

To support its next stage of growth, Sunday Supper today launched a $2.5 million seed round. The two-tier round will consist primarily of funds and venture capital, with a smaller portion coming from a crowdfunding campaign.

According to Oberg, the decision to include a crowdfunding element is part of the brand’s “strong desire” to have its community share in its success. Once the seed round closes, the funds will be deployed to expand the team and grow the Sunday Supper’s distribution footprint.

“The vast majority will go into the growth aspect of making the product and getting it on shelves. We’re looking at a very significant growth year, [anticipating] 4x year-over-year growth,” said Oberg. “The future looks very bright.”