Who needs Amazon to create his own online distribution channel? At least that is the idea of Grove Collaborative, a home care product company that sells natural cleaning brands like Method and Mrs. Meyer & # 39; s.
Stuart Landesberg, co-founder, started the company in 2014 after working with private labels during his stay as an investor at TPG. He noticed that the display space was limited for brands in brick and mortar stores and the idea came to him to start a technology company that could help move products into encouraging consumers to buy at the right time. The company has turned to online retail products in 2016 and is renamed Grove Collaborative.
But consumers have a lot of choice in this space and Grove's brands could just as easily be on your doorstep with same-day delivery on Amazon.
As unlikely as a customer can turn to Grove when there is the convenience of Target or Amazon, Landesberg tells TechCrunch that the company has raised "tens of millions of dollars" in revenue and that she has "hundreds of thousands" of active customers. He also says that more than half of Grove's customers have never bought natural products before.
Still, he admits that there is no special sauce here. The company is not trying to compete with lower prices and it offers similar incentives to Amazon to replenish the supply when you are likely to be out. But he says the difference is that incumbents often prioritize profits over customers and environmental health.
These numbers also look promising and VCs have been eager to support Grove in its journey. The start-up has just secured a $ 35 million Series C financing led by Norwest Venture Partners. The funding comes right after a $ 15 million Series B, which closed last March and was led by Mayfield VC.
The main use of funding will go towards marketing, which Landesberg says at TechCrunch is mainly through influencers such as health bloggers and Youtube personalities with a follow-up in the space.
The start-up will also use some of this money to develop new offerings from the main Grove brand, which include items such as hand sanitizer, essential oils, moisturizers and natural sponges.
"Families want to make safe, sustainable and informed choices, and that's how e-commerce can catalyze real progress," said Landesberg. "This funding allows us to offer natural products to more homes and help us build a brand that can serve our community without being constrained by the realities of offline sales."