Forager, the Portland-based startup that has developed a software platform to streamline the procurement process between grocers and local farms, has signed a deal that represents its first entrance into the New York City market.
The Portland-based startup recently signed a deal with Fairway Market, which has 15 stores in the New York metro area. The deal is “very significant,” Founder David Stone told Maine Startups Insider.
“Fairway is a well-known grocer in the try-state area,” Stone said. “[The new deal is] even more impressive since it’s especially challenging to get farms to deliver into dense urban areas.”
Stone, who also serves as the company’s board chair, said Forager is now working with 26 grocers in eight states that are sourcing approximately 75,000 local products from roughly 250 farms and local suppliers. The company has also expanded its product and client mix with bakeries, wellness products like CBD, and frozen foods.
The company, which Stone founded in 2016, is approaching $100,000 in weekly volume, which represents more than a 300% increase from the average weekly volume of $23,000 the company experienced last year. In 2018, Forager enabled $1.4 million in local food sales, an 89% increase over its inaugural year. It currently employs seven full-timers in Portland.
Grocery stores like Fairway see Forager’s platform as an opportunity to simplify the way it buys local food, which is growing in customer demand.
“The Fairway Market team is excited about Forager’s potential to help us expand the variety of local food we offer to our millions of customers in the most efficient way possible,” Jason Bidart, Fairway’s vice president of private brand and local programs, said in a statement. “Many of our smaller suppliers—independent farms, for —have traditionally used phone calls, fax, or text messages for the ordering process. The Forager platform is far more efficient yet user-friendly, giving farmers the tools to provide Fairway with seamless ordering of their up-to-date products.”
Forager recently conducted a national survey to gauge the shift in consumer preferences for local foods. According to the survey results, 93% of respondents would buy more local food if it was available at their primary grocery store and 84% would make an extra shopping trip for local, seasonal food. In addition, 80% would even be willing to pay at least a 10% premium for local food, according to the survey, which collected responses from more than 500 consumers nationwide in early June.
“Retail users of the Forager procurement system have reported saving up to 20 hours a week per buyer ordering during peak season, freeing up staff to assist customers on the store floor,” Stone said. “And at the bottom line, grocers using Forager have seen double digit increases in local food sales.”
Stone said he’s looking to raise more capital, approximately $500,000, to help fuel further growth. To date, Forager has raised approximately $2.1 million across two early convertible note rounds, a recent $750,000 seed round, as well as a development loan from the Maine Technology Institute.
