Dive Brief:
- E-commerce marketing and insights platform MikMak closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Wavecrest Growth Partners, according to a release sent to Food Dive. Other investors included Luminari Capital, Brave Ventures, Lunch Partners, Bazaarvoice founder Brett Hurt, HookLogic founder Jonathan Opdyke and Foursquare CEO David Shim.
- MikMak, which was founded in 2015, says it is the first e-commerce platform for multichannel brands, providing insights across big online retailers like Target, Amazon and Walmart. From March through June, MikMak saw 50% revenue growth as consumer demand for e-commerce skyrocketed during the pandemic.
- MikMak, which is used by companies like Hershey and the J.M. Smucker Co., said it will use this funding to grow its market share and advance its products. The company will also be expanding its retail offerings by providing services to international companies and investing the money back into its platform.
Dive Insight:
E-commerce has become big business in the age of coronavirus. As consumers are stuck at home during the pandemic, many have turned to online shopping.
From Nestlé to Unilever, MikMak said it is helping big companies by using its platform to create shopping experiences connected to more than 200 online retailers, help brands improve their marketing strategies, beat out competitors and strengthen its positioning with retailers.
At a time when e-commerce is increasingly popular, it makes sense platforms like MikMak are attracting big funds. Wavecrest Growth Partners, the lead investor this round, previously said it backs "B2B technology companies that have a proven product, market, and business model."
"As consumer demand for eCommerce accelerates in unprecedented ways, Fortune 1000 brands will need eCommerce intelligence across media channels and retailers to protect and grow market share, this is where MikMak excels," MikMak founder and CEO Rachel Tipograph said in a release.
Big food and beverage has struggled with successful e-commerce strategies in the past. In March, Profitero and Kantar published a study that found brands are not fully prepared to win in the e-commerce space. In the study, about 71% reported they are catching up to or keeping pace with competitors. Many brands said they don't have dedicated e-commerce strategies. And it is not the only study that has found that. A Rabobank report released in January found alcohol brands and retailers are losing billions in online sales.
As the pandemic has pushed more shoppers online, companies are investing more in e-commerce despite the complications that can come with it. Direct-to-consumer shipments can be complicated for logistics, and have not traditionally been a major source of revenue for CPGs. In 2014, only 1.4% of consumers used direct-to-consumer services once in the prior 12 months to purchase food and drinks, according to Global Data. The figure only rose to 5.8% in 2018.
But now, some big CPGs, including PepsiCo, Mondelez and Unilever, have transitioned more of their products online as many seek out the convenience of online shopping during the pandemic. Plant-based giants, like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, are also making the move to offer direct-to-consumer.
The marketing insights aspect of the platform could also be valuable for companies as they look to invest in advertising during and after the pandemic. In February, MikMak announced one of its new analytics tools allowed companies to track whether influencers were in fact driving sales.
If a platform like MikMak, which saw a 50% revenue growth during lockdowns, can help these big CPG companies capitalize on the quickly growing e-commerce market and help with its marketing campaigns, it may see more funding and business in the near future.