In 2022, American consumers saw the most significant annual increase in food prices since the 1980s, due to inflation and global supply chain disruptions, among other issues. But while wild and specialty foods are rising in popularity and the global mushroom market alone is poised to be worth $78.9B by 2024. The reason is that market fragmentation makes it difficult to buy and sell them.
US-based Foraged, a marketplace for wild and specialty foods, empowers small-scale producers like independent farmers and foragers to grow sustainable businesses while nourishing everyday people with easy access to naturally occurring foods.
Receives $2.7M funding
In a recent development, Foraged has received $2.7 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners (that invested in ANYbotics and DriveNets) with participation from Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, StubHub co-founder Eric Baker, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, and Fiverr founder and CEO Micha Kaufman.
With this round, the total funding raised by the company accounts for $3 million. Foraged will use this capital to enhance its suite of tools and features to deliver a more seamless and robust platform for buyers and sellers alike in the online marketplace.
“Mainstream awareness of wild foods has been quietly, but intensely growing over the past few years. More people than ever have discovered that there are alternatives to the local supermarket,” said Jack Hamrick, co-founder and CEO of Foraged. “This funding not only validates the potential of our platform but also moves us closer to realizing our vision for the food system of the future — where consumers can discover and connect with independent food producers in a more meaningful way.”
“Bessemer is excited to lead this financing round,” Jeremy Levine, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners said. “We believe in Foraged’s mission to empower independent food producers and provide consumers with a unique shopping experience. Foraged has reimagined the way consumers think about where and how they get their food.”
Online marketplace for wild and specialty foods
Founded in 2021 by Jack Hamrick and Andy Conner in Washington DC, Foraged makes it easy for consumers to buy wild and specialty foods from independent foragers and farmers. With Foraged, they can access an end-to-end, turnkey solution for their business that handles everything from shipping, especially for perishable goods, to secure payment processing via Stripe to a mobile app for messaging customers, uploading photos of products, and managing local pickups.
Now, vendors can seamlessly enter the e-commerce market and instantly get discovered by tens of thousands of new customers from all over the country. It allows consumers to access rare foods never before available online.
The Foraged team is made up of professionals from the technology, culinary, and sustainability industries, including alumni from Apple, Squarespace, Anheuser-Busch, and the EPA. The team also features a Michelin-experienced chef from Noma.
400x revenue growth
Last year, Foraged witnessed over 400% revenue growth from customers in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The number of repeat customers has also increased by over 1,000% yearly.
