Pod Foods Capital Launches

Grocery fintech product enables emerging brands to scale nationally

7/14/2022

In launching Pod Foods Capital, Pod Foods’ goal is to foster accelerated business growth and keep products on store shelves, even amid a difficult economic climate.

Pod Foods, which aims to reinvent the grocery supply chain by offering the first full-service wholesale B2B marketplace with built-in logistics, has now launched Pod Foods Capital, a financing tool that permits emerging brands to gain access to easy and affordable capital to help them grow. Pod Foods Capital currently offers two financial products, a line of credit and term loans, giving brands aid regardless of their current stage of growth.

Financing offers are customized to each brand through data from the Pod Foods platform and will provide brands with the needed cash flow to expand their distribution and operations. In launching the tool, Pod Foods’ goal is to foster accelerated business growth and keep products on store shelves, even amid a difficult economic climate.

“As demand for emerging brands grows across national retail chains, supply chain issues along with a recession on the way, pose a significant challenge to brands trying to keep up with the demand,” noted Fiona Lee, co-founder and chief product officer of Austin, Texas-based Pod Foods, adding: “Pod Foods Capital is a way for our brands to seize the opportunities that enable their growth. The need for targeted financing solutions is going to be higher than ever, and we are looking forward to playing a major part in the success of the brands who partner with us.”

In the retail business, maintaining a healthy cash flow can be challenging, since wholesale customers such as large grocery chains often delay payments up to 60 days after fulfillment. Pod Foods Capital was created to combat that delay by giving brands quick and straightforward access to cash so they can focus on growth. Brands can view the amount that they’re eligible for, along with the terms of the financing, via their dashboard with a few clicks. Once eligible, users can accept the funds through the dashboard, and the money will be deposited in their bank account within days. Repayment is automatic, and the entire process can be completed via the Pod Foods dashboard.

“The brands that we work with are all in different stages of growth, so we knew when building this solution that a one-size-fits-all financial product wouldn’t be optimal,” said Larissa Russell, co-founder and CEO of Pod Foods.

Added Chief Technology Officer Tim Wee: “By leveraging our data to offer customizable plans that help us meet brands where they are regarding their financial needs, it allows us to truly work as partners in their growth plan, rather than just as a distribution vendor. As a full-service distribution platform with real-time information, we’re uniquely positioned to offer intelligent cash-flow solutions versus other providers.”

Last month, Sprouts Farmers Market joined Pod Foods’ nationwide distribution channel. Under the deal, Pod Foods will provide about 130 Sprouts stores in the Southeast with immediate access to a virtual warehouse of emerging CPG brands, enabling the retailer to avoid supply chain delays and quickly stock the products that its customers want.

Phoenix-based Sprouts, which employs approximately 31,000 associates at more than 370 stores in 23 states, is No. 53 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.