Mercato Secures Additional Funding for Independent Grocery Delivery Platform

Mercato, the online ordering and delivery platform for independent grocers, closed a funding round led by Greycroft, a venture capital firm, and Loeb Enterprises, which has invested with the company before. The new funding will allow Mercato to expand into new markets across the country as well as continue the development of technology and services that allow independent grocers to compete online.

“Mercato has been successful based on two important factors: its technology and its unique ability to serve the needs of independent grocers,” said Ian Sigalow, co-founder of Greycroft. “We believe in the company’s disciplined vision, strong management and vast market potential and look forward to working with them as the team continues to expand into new markets across the country.”

Mercato’s platform was designed specifically for the unique ecommerce needs of independent grocers and specialty food retailers to compete in the nearly $20 billion grocery ecommerce market. According to eMarketer’s Grocery Ecommerce 2019 report, grocery ecommerce is the fastest growing product category online.

“My family is in the grocery business, and I grew up working in our family store. This experience highlighted to me the real disadvantage independents have when it comes to technology, innovation, and marketing. We want to level the playing field and allow these great local businesses to win against their competition, whoever it is,” said Bobby Brannigan, tech entrepreneur and Mercato founder and CEO. “Mercato is the only platform that allows consumers to discover the best local grocers and specialty food retailers in their area. Besides all of the traditional pantry staples and packaged foods, customers get access to the freshest produce, fish, meat, ethnic and prepared foods, and can have them delivered to their home or business in about an hour.”

Mercato allows independent grocers to throttle orders, define delivery lead times, communicate directly with their customers, and easily add items and change prices in real time on their Mercato storefront. The platform also allows grocers to access product and pricing analytics to determine trends and manage inventory. Mercato handles the deliveries through its nationwide courier network and can often deliver up to 15 miles, or more.