NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Michael Loeb, founder and CEO of Loeb.NYC, the New York City-based startup firm, has made an investment in Mercato, Inc. The investment supports Mercato’s e-commerce platform that allows independent and specialty grocers to reach mobile-minded consumers with discriminating tastes and a preference for locally sourced food.
The investment was committed by Michael Loeb’s private investment platform, which supports a number of promising startups. The capital infusion will help Mercato increase marketing and sales efforts while expanding its roster of talented team members during this time of significant growth.
Since launching in 2015, Mercato has been building robust networks of local butchers, seafood and produce markets, bakers and small grocers in seven U.S. markets. These independent retailers are drawn to Mercato’s easy-to-use platform of marketing, e-commerce, and service tools that allow them to connect seamlessly with consumers.
“Mercato allows purveyors of specialty foods to boost sales while satisfying the growing consumer demand for ordering artisanal foods via their mobile device,” said Michael Loeb. “The solutions Mercato provides are being very well received and this momentum will only increase as the large players in food delivery continue to ignore consumer desire to purchase from hyper local and truly thoughtful food purveyors.”
Bobby Brannigan, founder and CEO of Mercato, said: “In the month of April we added 22 specialty and small grocery stores to our platform and in the first week of June we added 35 new merchants. As more merchants flock to the app, Mercato users are enjoying a larger variety of local food purveyors to choose from. The result is increased ordering via Mercato with retailers reporting hundreds of transactions per week.”
Bobby Brannigan, an entrepreneur who grew up working in his father’s butcher shop and grocery store in Brooklyn, NY, created Mercato to bring independent grocers into the future. The Mercato app is currently operating in New York (Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens), Chicago, San Francisco, Alameda, CA, Washington, DC, and Princeton, NJ.
ABOUT MICHAEL LOEB
Michael Loeb is a New York-based veteran entrepreneur who has backed, built, or funded over fifty successful companies. Chief among his successes are Priceline.com--known for its travel deals and travel search engine, and Synapse (acquired by Time, Inc.). Loeb now leads Loeb.NYC and Loeb Enterprises, a start up laboratory and private investment platform, respectively, based in New York City. A leading New York philanthropist, Loeb donates to a variety of charities, and he’s donated the location fees related to his Hampton’s home being used as a set for the Showtime television series Billions.
ABOUT Loeb.NYC
The venture arm of Loeb Enterprises and founded by CEO Michael Loeb, Loeb.NYC is a startup lab and early-stage private investor built on the belief that aligning the right people with the right ideas creates successful companies. More information can be found at www.loeb.nyc.
