Food distribution startup Prep has successfully raised $200,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Melbourne-based venture capital firm Skalata. The investment aims to bolster Prep’s mission of bridging major food retailers, corporates, and restaurants with emerging food brands through its innovative B2B marketplace.
Prep’s platform serves as a vital conduit for food producers and brands to streamline B2B distribution efforts, regardless of geographical constraints, while maintaining a low margin. Notably, the platform boasts seamless integration with producers’ existing ordering systems, rendering it five times more scalable than conventional methods.
Co-founded by Sean Miller, a former restaurateur, Prep is particularly focused on empowering smaller producers, including bakers, brewers, and specialist growers, alongside subscription boxes and meal kit providers. Miller emphasized the challenges faced by such businesses in scaling and distributing their products efficiently within outdated systems characterized by intermediaries.
The B2B marketplace curated by Prep offers producers direct access to major wholesalers, complemented by tailored marketing support from the platform. Additionally, an AI assistant operates in the background, aiding with sales, distribution, forecasting, and providing valuable insights.
On the buyer side, wholesale purchasers gain access to a diverse array of new brands, leveraging customer data to discern prevailing market trends.
Prep’s marketplace has already attracted prominent users such as Sydney Airport, Qantas, WHSmith, and the tech unicorn Canva, which operates its own in-house canteen. Currently, Prep is undergoing a trial phase with Australia’s largest grocery chain.
In 2023, Prep facilitated the delivery of over 30,000 cartons across various regions in Australia, including New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia, as well as Singapore, witnessing double-digit month-on-month growth.
Co-founder Mathieu Jamet highlighted that while numerous companies address different facets of the food distribution industry, none in Australia are endeavoring to construct a network of Prep’s magnitude. The result, he emphasized, is an ecosystem characterized by enhanced pricing, product choice, service quality, and transparency, benefitting both local bakeries and international FMCG players.
Jamet underscored the significant barriers to scaling faced by smaller suppliers, attributing them to a relentless focus on survival. To address this, Prep integrates a software layer that seamlessly connects infrastructure, negating the necessity for the startup to own fleets or warehouses outright.
Tom Smalley, Investment Director at Skalata, lauded Prep’s role in empowering smaller suppliers to achieve unprecedented growth opportunities. He emphasized that Prep’s platform facilitates emerging and established Australian food brands in expanding their reach nationally and globally in a more accessible and cost-effective manner.
Smalley concluded by noting that what was once deemed unfeasible for both sides of the marketplace has now become achievable, thanks to Prep’s innovative approach.
