The online marketplace PartnerSlate has made waves in the food and beverage contract manufacturing industry, recently securing a $4 million investment to further its mission of connecting food brands and contract manufacturers. The funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its online marketplace, which is currently digitizing the $200 billion food and beverage contract manufacturing industry.
PartnerSlate was founded in 2021 by Matt Suggs and Vince Tseng to connect brands and manufacturers within the food and beverage sector. Its specialized project marketplace, known as PartnerMatch, serves as an effective tool for stakeholders on both the supply and demand sides, enabling them to locate partners and enhance collaboration within the globally expansive consumer packaged goods market, valued in the trillions.
PartnerSlate’s database includes nearly 6,000 co-manufacturers and the platform allows users to search for projects that align with their specific equipment, capabilities, risk tolerance and capacity. With this recent funding, the company plans to invest in sales and marketing as well as expand project management features to accelerate projects through production.
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The emergence of retail innovations such as online grocery and self-check out technologies, alongside direct-to-consumer (DTC) distribution, has lowered the barriers to entry for new products. This has resulted in a heightened demand for streamlined manufacturing partnerships, which can take over 12 months to establish, causing delays in bringing products to market.
This is where San Francisco-based PartnerSlate comes in. “PartnerSlate can cut a brand’s search for the right contract manufacturer from months to days,” said Tseng, PartnerSlate’s co-founder and CEO, in a press release. “Our approach replaces cold-calling with data science, helping both parties save hundreds of hours of following mismatched leads to dead ends.”
This new approach seems to be resonating with users. Suggs, co-founder and chief business officer said in the same press release that, “We’ve seen a 3x growth in projects since our beta launch four months ago.” PartnerSlate has proven valuable for startups looking for the right-sized partners, Fortune 500 brands appreciating the breadth and speed of its network and co-manufacturers who view it as a one-stop shop to streamline business development.
With this recent investment, PartnerSlate’s total funding now sits at $4 million. While this indicates significant momentum for the company, it’s not without competition. Other companies providing similar services include Grovara, TreeHouse Foods and Berner Food & Beverage; however, none can yet match the scale or depth of PartnerSlate’s offerings.
PartnerSlate is positioning itself as a key player in the food and beverage contract manufacturing industry. By using technology to streamline the search and matching process, PartnerSlate is saving brands and manufacturers time and resources, and is poised to continue growing with this recent investment.
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