Bay Area Reusable Packaging Startup Announces $3.7M Seed Raise
Sustainability startup Dispatch Goods, which provides solutions for reusable packaging logistics, has raised $3.7 million in seed money to expand its program for restaurants, food delivery services and grocers.
Building on its partnerships with restaurants and food delivery companies, Dispatch Goods is seeking to work with more caterers and grocers with foodservice operations to leverage completely reusable packaging. Through its solution, food orders are prepared and delivered in reusable containers and bags, which can be returned via a scheduled at-home collection or at return bins at several establishments. In addition to collecting its own reusable containers, Dispatch Goods can pick up ice/gel packs from online grocers as well as milk and juice bottles form local producers.
The company estimates that it has replaced more than 250,000 single-use plastics from the waste stream this year. The latest round of funding was led by Congruent Ventures, with additional investments by Bread and Butter Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Incite Ventures, MCJ and Berkeley SkyDeck.
“Our journey with Dispatch Goods began with my experiences as a surfer. I became increasingly concerned and infuriated by the mounting prevalence of micro plastics on even the most remote beaches," explained Lindsey Hoell, co-founder and CEO. "Achieving this milestone and closing our round truly validates our core strategy of taking a systems approach to reuse, instead of a product approach. Dispatch Goods has built a unique system that is similar to recycling, which enables businesses to recapture the value of packaging and customers to very easily participate in reuse.”
Currently serving customers in the San Francisco area, Dispatch Goods is planning to use the new funding to expand geographically, add more foodservice and grocery partnerships and broaden its enterprise program offering reverse logistics that enable reuse at office buildings and campuses.
