DELANCO, N.J., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Misfits Market, BB #:349668 the fastest growing online grocer that offers quality, sustainably sourced food at a value, today announced its $200M Series C funding co-led by Accel and D1 Capital, with participation by existing investors including Valor Equity Partners, Greenoaks Capital, Sound Ventures, and Third Kind Ventures.
The oversubscribed round brings the company’s total funding to $301.5M to-date. The only D2C online grocery service delivering quality products discounted up to 40% compared to those offered by premium, on-demand/in-store grocers has officially surpassed ‘unicorn’ status.
The funding unlocks its ability to expand into every major grocery category and distribute across every underserved area nationwide to push forward its goal of eliminating food deserts in America by 2025. In tandem with its Series C funding, Accel’s Ryan Sweeney will join Misfits Market’s Board of Directors.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a state of shock for the entire food supply chain, from sourcing and procurement to distribution and consumer experience, which led to a momentous shift across the industry.
Rising to the challenge for consumers, farmers and CPG brands, Misfits Market rapidly became an essential service. Misfits Market tripled its farmer and supplier relationships to rescue food, preventing waste as well as significant losses for farmers and producers.
The company saw 5x growth in its active customers and order volume last year, shipping more than 77 million pounds of food to over 400,000 customers across the US. In the first four months of 2021 alone, Misfits Market has rescued the same amount of food as it saved in 2020 as a whole.
“In 2020, Misfits Market found itself in the middle of a global sea change – the food supply chain experienced a once-in-a-100-year disruption, with major institutions and households changing the way they source and consume food,” said Abhi Ramesh, Founder and CEO, Misfits Market.
“With this capital infusion, we plan to complete our expansion to the west coast, and continue to expand the selection of organic produce and high-quality, sustainably-sourced proteins and pantry items, getting us one step closer to our mission of making sustainable and affordable food accessible to every community across America.”
As 68% of grocery shoppers who turned to the safety and convenience of online services during the pandemic plan to continue shopping online, Misfits Market prepares for ongoing customer acquisition and retention while promoting less hassle and more discovery throughout the shopping process.
Traditional grocery retailers and delivery providers often create gaps in service due to being either prohibitively expensive or too difficult to execute in select zip codes. Establishing itself as the affordable and sustainable online grocer of the future, with a vision to eradicate food deserts by 2025, Misfits Market is acutely focused on elevating automated grocery fulfillment to bridge those very gaps.
“Direct-to-consumer models aren’t anything new in the food industry, but the approach Misfits Market has taken is,” said Ryan Sweeney, Partner at Accel and Misfits Market’s newest board member. “Instead of focusing only on their end customer, they’ve managed to create a dynamic solution that also supports food suppliers at every level.”
Since Misfits Market’s $85M Series B funding announcement in July 2020, the company has expanded its footprint and is launching new offerings, including the following initiatives:
Grocer Category Expansion — A curated assortment of quality meats, poultry and seafood from sustainable producers of animal-based proteins raised without antibiotics or hormones. From free-range non-GMO chicken and 100% grass-fed beef to wild-caught Atlantic cod, the company will now carry 20 essential cuts and ground packs so customers can tackle even more of their weekly shopping list.
Increased Delivery Capacity — Following the opening of its new 250,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Delanco, NJ, the company was able to more than double its order capacity to the states it serves within the Eastern U.S. Plus, Misfits Market added 10 new states throughout the country to its delivery areas within the last year alone, and currently offers more delivery days than most competitors – up to 7 days per week. Since its founding, Misfits Market’s distribution network has reached markets currently underserved by other D2C and chain grocery store delivery platforms.
Expansion into the West — Misfits Market established its West Coast headquarters in Utah and is building out a facility in the region with plans to bring more than 2,000 jobs to the area within the next 5 years. Next on its radar is expansion into the Pacific Northwest; the company is taking its first orders in Oregon and Washington on April 21st.
Millions of Americans still do not have access to quality foods today. To continue building and executing the company’s unique distribution plans, and ultimately make it easier and more affordable for everyone to eat better across the U.S., Misfits Market has added executives from Walmart, Amazon, Boxed, Casper, Wayfair, Jet and Warby Parker, and aims to double its current team of over 1,000 employees with new hires in the next year across all teams, including product, engineering, marketing, and operations.
For more information on Misfits Market, please visit: misfitsmarket.com.
About Misfits Market
Misfits Market is the fastest-growing grocery service in the U.S. that creates food access, not food waste. The company delivers fresh organic produce, sustainably sourced pantry staples, and other grocery items straight to your door at up to 40 percent off grocery store prices. Driven by its mission to bring affordable, quality food to more people, the company leverages direct relationships with growers and producers to reduce food waste at scale and eliminate inefficiencies in the food system. Misfits Market reaches consumers in every nearly zip code within the states that it serves. Currently, Misfits Market delivers to Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Grocery boxes can be purchased on a weekly/biweekly basis at www.misfitsmarket.com.
About Accel
Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, DJI, DocuSign, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Freshworks, Jet, Pillpack, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Tenable, UiPath, and Venmo are among the companies Accel has backed over the past 35+ years. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more, visit www.accel.com or www.twitter.com/accel.
