The Latest in Fertility Care: Meal Delivery Services for New and Expecting Mothers

A newborn baby brings significant changes—ones, at times even the most perfect parent, can struggle to make sense of. Meanwhile, the mother’s body is still attempting to heal from the act of giving birth, which under the best conditions can take up to six to eight weeks. Combined with intense sleep deprivation and the physical, as well as, psychological toll of caring for a newborn, some thing is bound to get lost in the hustle.

Sleepless nights and constant care for the baby mean there is little time left for new mothers to eat, much less cook, nutritious meals. This compounds the impact on the body since nutrition is extremely crucial to proper wound healing. New mothers need nutrition to care for themselves, a healing body and a newborn baby.

Chiyo was born from this need.

Chiyo provides personalized nutrition guidance for women through every stage and symptom, offering nutrition-focused food as well as nutrition curriculum and soon, community coaching. It’s meal delivery services are designed specifically for new mothers. Food is fresh, ready to eat and has been nutritionally tailored to the unique needs of new mothers.

“My relative had a baby, and I saw how challenging maternal health is on new mothers,” said Irene Liu, co-founder of Chiyo. “I was in graduate school focusing on food policy and how food systems work. I saw this intersection point where nutrition and positive health outcomes overlap but was underserved. I wondered about using the two together.”

Liu’s curiosity led to a mutual friend connecting her with Jennifer Jolorte. “I am interested in nutrition, but I am not a nutritionist. I was thrilled to meet Jennifer. We got together and had the thought of co-founding a solution to postpartum nutrition,” remembers Liu.

The first iteration of Chiyo was a five-week pilot. “It was me and Jennifer delivering meals to mothers in New York City. Jennifer would make meals at home, and I’d come up from Philadelphia to help deliver them,” said Liu. The program gained more traction than they ever imagined. “We became the first organic Google search result in post-partum nutrition. Then we were in New York Times and Bon Appetit in 2021.”

The pair intended to take a break to strategize after the five-week pilot. Then, they became the first organic Google search result for “postpartum meals new york or nyc.” Chiyo was featured in bon appétit and The New York Times. The demand was unprecedent. The whole thing took on a life of its own. They spent a year and a half focused on meeting customer demand, all the while, iterating and learning.

During that time, Liu also moved to Detroit.

At first the move seemed to present a distinct challenge to expanding Chiyo, but the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Detroit quickly proved to be a boon. Chiyo found early support in Detroit Ventures Partners (DVP), founded in 2010 by Dan Gilbert with the intention of growing Detroit’s entrepreneurial community.

“In April 2022, we incorporated and did a small pre-seed round of funding,” said Liu. “Detroit Venture Partners (DVP) was one of the first investors in Detroit. The DVP investment came with more than a material contribution. It included connections, business advice and helped Chiyo build on its past success.

Irene and Jennifer’s dedication to providing the best care for women’s bodies during their fertility and pregnancy journey aligned seamlessly with DVP’s foundational belief in being For More Than Profit, placing people first. Chiyo was a perfect fit.

“Lindsey Kilbride at Detroit Venture Partners was instrumental in helping us expand and tapping into local talent. She provided advice, experience and introduced us to other female entrepreneurs. I remember one event, a female founders and investors event. I met a bunch of other entrepreneurs – it opened networks for us. I’ve even made a few hires in Detroit because of those connections.”

Since April 2022, Chiyo has grown exponentially. They continue to add clients and team members while focusing on a For More Than Profit philosophy of solving a critical health problem faced by expecting women and new mothers.

“In creating any company, money is only a means to an end. What is really important is building a company that makes cultural change. Everyday I ask, ‘How do we make Chiyo more accessible? How can we improve the standard of care?’ Yes, we have a profitable business, but what we are building is research efficacy studies around post-partum, fertility, and soon pre-natal, nutrition,” said Liu. “It’s about healing mothers.”