US-based online consumer goods platform Brandless has raised more than $50m from investors including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
The news emerged the day after Brandless emerged from stealth, and the funding was supplied over three rounds, the newest of which is a recently closed $35m series B that included GV and venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.
Brandless operates an online store that sells a variety of products, including food, household and office supplies, and beauty, health and personal care products, all of which are priced at $3 each.
The company’s products come in basic but distinctive colour-coded packaging, and it aims to save money by shaving production and retail margins.
Co-founders Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler explained in a blog post on Monday: “We did tons of heavy lifting to make Brandless a destination for streamlined shopping.
“We are not overwhelming you with options (there are not 100 pasta sauces to compare, there are three) or forcing you to over-consume (no need to stock up to save, you can get great value buying just one).
“We do not want you to spend your time and energy trying to figure out the difference between 20 different Italian dressings or hunting for the best deal. We are bringing you an edited assortment of better products at a fairer price.”
Brandless was incubated at VC firm Sherpa Capital, where Sharkey, the startup’s CEO, was a venture partner between 2013 and 2016.
Cowboy Ventures and Slow Ventures supplied the capital for the company’s seed round, which a securities filing suggested was sized at between $1.5m and $3m, in March 2016, before fellow VC firm Redpoint led a series A round nine months later that another filing stated was $12.5m in size.
– Image courtesy of Brandless