Foraged raised a $2.7M seed after repeat customers grew over 1,000% in a year

US online marketplace for wild and specialty foods from independent foragers, farmers and small producers, with a vendor mobile app

Consumers will buy wild and specialty foods direct from independent foragers and farmers through a vetted marketplace, cutting out most of the supply chain

$200K pre-seed in 2022 (investors included chef Tom Colicchio), then $2.7M seed; about $3M raised in total

Jack Hamrick and Andy Conner founded Foraged in 2021 to address rising food prices and supply-chain disruption and to help small business owners get a slice of the global mushroom market. It launched in 2022 after a $200K pre-seed that included chef Tom Colicchio.

At launch hundreds of people signed up to sell and over 500 customers were buying. The company vets vendors and gives them a mobile app to manage listings, payments, shipping and local pickup. A year on, it says it has tens of thousands of new customers, repeat customers up over 1,000% and revenue up over 400%, and it has moved into meat and seafood.

Rising food prices and supply-chain disruption pushed buyers towards direct sourcing

Cutting most of the supply chain lets small producers keep more margin and consumers pay less

The global mushroom market was expected to be worth $127B by 2030

Early repeat purchasing gave investors evidence of demand (self-reported)

Foraged's growth claims are percentages from a tiny base; the seed round tests whether direct sourcing from small vendors can keep its repeat customers.

As of 2023-07-12 Foraged had eight staff, about $3M raised and was adding engineers and marketing. All growth percentages are the company's own and are not tied to absolute figures.