Aa Traasdal
Boston-based Wellington Management, along with other venture firms and corporate entities, has announced a $72 million investment in Crisp, a Bentonville, Ark.-based supply chain startup targeting the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Participated in Series B equity round.
$17 million of the investment came from new strategic investors including Toshiba, Japan’s DNX, Cox and Prologis. To date, Crisp has raised $97 million from investors including New York’s FirstMark Capital, Blue Cloud Ventures, Spring Capital, and 3L, which also has offices in Los Angeles.
Crisp is tackling food supply chain disruptions caused by climate change and extreme weather events in “a very practical and effective way: by bringing together leading companies using real-time data and analytics; We ensure optimal supply to meet demand in a dynamic and fast-moving retail industry,” said Molly Breiner, sector leader at Wellington Management.
Crisp says its open data retail platform leverages AI and predictive analytics to accelerate data-driven decision-making across the supply chain, create new efficiencies and reduce waste. This technology allows brands to place products exactly where and when consumers want them. In the past year, Crisp says its customer roster has grown tenfold, from 600 to more than 6,000 customers, including more than 80 of the top 100 consumer goods brands. Masu.
“This funding round demonstrates the growing market awareness of the need for supply chain solutions that reduce waste and foster collaboration at scale,” said New York-based Crisp Founder. said Ale Traasdal, CEO and CEO. It added that Crisp is “positioned to lead the FMCG industry in these efforts” and create a “zero-waste supply chain.”
In addition to being a serial entrepreneur with multiple successes, Mr. Traasdal, a native of Norway, has been running Spring Capital, one of Crisp’s early backers, since 2009.
Crisp also talks about its company’s role in so-called cooperative commerce. The company’s platform works with more than 40 retailers representing more than 627 million distribution locations, up from 17 million locations in 2023. Crisp says UNFI Insights can use its platform to nearly halve the amount of food at risk of spoilage.
“The acceleration in brand adoption of the platform over the past year is a great signal that brands are on the right path,” said Rick Heitzmann, founder and partner at FirstMark Capital. New York-based FirstMark has supported Crisp since its inception.
