Springdale startup raises $2 million in late-stage seed round
by January 25, 2022 2:19 pm 1,807 views
Springdale-based online grocery startup EasyBins announced Tuesday (Jan. 25) the completion of a $2 million late-stage seed round.
The company is expected to use the money to expand its geographic footprint and invest in technology and staff.
“What we’re most excited about is how this funding will drive us to accelerate our growth,” said James Farmer, founder and CEO of EasyBins. “We plan on hiring more drivers, bolstering our technology and growing quickly in the suburbs of large cities in the Midwest and Southeast.”
EasyBins allows online shoppers to buy groceries from multiple stores, and a driver delivers them in a temperature-controlled bin. According to a news release, more than 60% of EasyBins orders contain products from more than one store and are fulfilled at underserved times of the day.
“Our platform is unique in that it provides an extremely efficient grocery logistics solution to the growing suburban markets where demand for online grocery shopping has skyrocketed, but supply has not kept up,” Farmer said. “We are currently focused on this market because of its size and growth potential.
“We believe that there is enough room in the market for more than one company to succeed,” he added. “It’s just a matter of which companies can build the right network of drivers, solve customer service problems and offer the desired level of convenience and variety.”
The late-stage seed round concluded with an investment from Springdale-based fintech startup Teslar and its CEO Joe Ehrhardt.
“While other companies are focused on building an online grocery delivery option for urban markets, EasyBins is laser-focused on developing solutions that hit the specific purchase behaviors and shopping patterns of suburban consumers,” Ehrhardt said. “The startup ecosystem in Arkansas is rapidly expanding, and we’re excited to contribute to the maturing of the system with our investment into EasyBins.”
In November, EasyBins launched its grocery delivery service in south Kansas City, Kan., and opened a 1,500-square-foot micro-fulfillment center in Stilwell, Kan., the company’s sixth location.