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Recipe-box brand Gousto has hired Mother as its new creative agency as it looks to expand its business following a surge in home cooking during the pandemic. 

Mother pitched against Wieden & Kennedy and Neverland in the review, which was handled by AAR. 

The agency replaces M&C Saatchi, which previously worked with Gousto for two years but did not repitch for the account. 

The7stars, Gousto’s media agency, and its PR and social media shop Manifest were not affected by the review.

Gousto is the UK market leader in recipe boxes and its business has been boosted during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many people embracing cooking at home.

In March, after pubs and restaurants were officially ordered to close, the brand had to temporarily pause marketing and stop accepting new customers to ensure it could cope with rising demand from existing customers.

The following month, it revealed a £33m funding round that would allow it to grow both its London-based technology team and staff at its Lincolnshire production site. 

Gousto now says it expects to report its first annual profit this year. It also plans to triple its capacity by 2022 and hire an additional 1,000 staff.

During lockdown, Gousto launched the Food Finder directory, which connected small businesses with local community members who were struggling to get hold of food deliveries.

Anna Greene, vice-president of brand at Gousto, said: “Our mission is to become the UK’s most-loved way to eat dinner and we’re better placed than ever with Mother to achieve our ambition. We’ve been so impressed by their strategic insight, passion and humility and we can’t wait to see where this partnership takes us.”

Since Timo Boldt founded Gousto in 2012, the company has raised a total of £130m of equity investment from Perwyn Private Equity, Canaccord Genuity, Unilever Ventures, BGF, MMC Ventures and Joe Wicks.

Hermeti Balarin, partner at Mother, said: “The people at Gousto are that rare breed: living and breathing the brand, while also being incredibly human – a delight to work with. We’re all looking forward to seeing what we can cook up together.”