INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Larissa Russell and Fiona Lee founded a cookie startup called Green Pea Cookie in 2014
Two incumbent players, United Natural Foods Inc
and KeHE Distributors, essentially controlled its only pathway to grocery stores across the country
So the founders shut down Green Pea and focused their efforts on building the tool Green Pea had needed to survive: Pod Foods, a
executive officer, tells TechCrunch
announcing a $3 million seed round led by Moment Ventures, with participation from M12 and Unshackled Ventures to fuel the growth of its
software and data-enabled platform
The capital follows a $250,000 pre-seed investment from Unshackled, a venture capital firm that invests in immigrant founders and, if
necessary, helps them navigate the complex visa process.Lee immigrated to the U.S
from Singapore five years ago to double down on Green Pea Cookie
Her business partner, Russell, had been handling operations in the U.S
while she helped build the business from her home country
With Pod Foods up and running, the founders now have the opportunity to bring Green Pea back from the dead
Instead, they tell me their focus and efforts are entirely on scaling their B2B software upstart
Green Pea is gone for good.Pod Foods is an end-to-end platform that connects retailers with manufacturers, facilitating the overly complex
wholesale-food distribution market
The startup works with a third-party network that handles both fulfillment and logistics to create a tool beneficial to emerging brands, big
The company charges retailers on a subscription basis and takes a cut of each transaction
The end goal is to simplify an age-old process, allow startup brands the opportunity to sell products inside big retailers and make great
products accessible to customers at a lower price.The San Francisco-based startup has launched in the Bay Area and Chicago
