SevenFifty, the online platform that is modernizing the way restaurants and stores buy alcohol, announced that it closed a $8.5 million Series A this week.
The round was led by Formation8, with participating investments from Pritzker Group VC and others.
SevenFifty was founded back in 2011, after the company’s founders experienced first-hand the inefficient supply chain behind wholesale wine and spirits. It turns out, alcohol distribution in the United States operates on a woefully antiquated system, where retailers make orders after browsing phone-book style catalogs or speaking with salespeople.
Realizing that modern technology was lacking in the industry, SevenFifty placed an emphasis on building out a database that provides an inventory of product listings for retailers to peruse. This robust and real-time database standardizes disparate data sets and offers educational information for retailers on a wide variety of wines and spirits, including product details such as vintage and region. Ultimately, this product is making it easier for retailers to see what distributors have to offer, as it provides the first comprehensive view of supply in a retailer’s local market.
“From a tech perspective, we’re doing a huge amount of reconciliation of the various records on what products are being sold, at what price and the availability of products so we can effectively aggregate that info and present it in a digestible format on the buying and selling side,” said SevenFifty co-founder and CEO, Aaron Sherman.
The company is planning on using the funding to expand its engineering team and develop out its product offerings to more easily bring information to buyers and sellers. In the long term, SevenFifty aims to touch the entire wines and spirits supply chain.
SevenFifty already works with more than 700 distributors in 30 states, with more than 30,000 retailers doing their sourcing on the platform.
Know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know or tweet us @builtinnewyork.
