Grocery Supply Chain company Pod Foods, a start-up that is redefining the market with the first full-service wholesale B2B marketplace with built-in logistics, just announced a total of $13 million in investment, including a $10 million Series A led by Industrious Ventures with participation from Microsoft’s venture fund M12, Moment Ventures, and others.
The company founded by two women entrepreneurs Fiona Lee and Larissa Russel provides a data-driven strategy to expedite the retailer procurement process with brands while exposing customers to a broader range of items, particularly those from emerging companies.
Consumer expectations have shifted dramatically as a result of the quick rise of delivery services during the pandemic, and businesses are trying to catch the pace.
Retailers must embrace data and implement new technologies to identify and purchase growing brands faster, regardless of format, to meet the growing demand for a consistent stream of new and trending items delivered to their doorstep in under an hour.
When the worldwide pandemic hit, the firm discovered that developing brands, the niche it concentrates on, were being pushed off shop shelves in favour of established names in an effort to keep store shelves filled. As a result, the company focused on raising product awareness.
“That created acceleration and amplified all of the things we set out to change.”, said Russel. “We took 2020 to lean into the challenges, as a result of the pandemic, and work on the business.” As a consequence, Pod Foods’ income and client base have tripled year over year since 2019, while also assisting shops with quickly adjusting items depending on what sells and what doesn’t.
Additionally, Pod Foods assists retailers with brand procurement, reducing fragmentation for high-growth brands that cannot afford the problems and costs associated with existing wholesalers. Pod Foods also provides developing businesses with a transparent and user-friendly platform to swiftly contact suitable retailers around the country.
Grocery supply chain company Pod Foods
This gives you access to the infrastructure you need to expand without breaking the bank, and it saves you hundreds of thousands of dollars in hidden fees, chargebacks, and other trade deductions. With a simplified user interface, the marketplace unites the two sides, managing everything from orders to fully-consolidated logistics that deliver the items from warehouse to store.
Pod Foods is renowned as the first asset-lite digital B2B marketplace with complete logistics built-in, providing a one-stop distribution service that allows merchants to browse, purchase, and receive items in a standardized approach, onboarding new brands and putting them to the shelf in as little as 24 hours.
Retailers that subscribe to Pod Foods’ service may explore several better-for-you and developing brands in one spot, as well as get data-driven suggestions based on sales of current brands and goods in their shops.
The organization backs this up with additional data that will assist new brands to thrive and boost sales. As merchants place orders, they can see which SKUs are popular, which ones are selling well, set up promotions on the dashboard, and quickly add new goods.
In order to empower the marketplace, the firm uses specialized logistics optimization tools as well as a network of warehouse and transportation suppliers. It provides wholesale merchandise to not just traditional retail formats, but also fast-growing direct-to-consumer delivery businesses like GoPuff, which was recently valued at $15 billion.
Grocery supply chain company Pod Foods
The Series A funding will be utilized to grow the Pod Foods brand and retailer network, allowing brands and retailers to connect throughout the country. In addition, Pod Foods will expand its analytics team to help with improved matching and liquidity, as well as right-sizing inventory counts.
Timothy Wee, who formerly headed machine learning initiatives at Google, Amazon, and Walmart Labs, was also recently appointed as the company’s CTO.
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