ChowNow, whose food-ordering platform makes it easier for local restaurants to accept online orders, has raised $21 million in a series C round of funding from private equity firms 3L Capital and Catalyst Investors.
Catalyst-backed BrightFarms, the leading supplier of locally grown salads for supermarkets, was recently awarded the Innovation Award (Produce) at Walmart’s 2019 Supplier Growth Forum. The award follows a successful launch of BrightFarms salads in Walmart stores in Ohio.
BrightFarms produce reaches Walmart stores within 24 hours of harvest, providing consumers with a fresher product that’s grown indoors and without the use of pesticides. BrightFarms salads have quickly become a household favorite among consumers searching for more locally grown options.
Catalyst-backed ChowNow is opening its first regional office in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District. The LA-based company’s director of recruiting, Candace Taylor, expects roughly 50 jobs to be created in Kansas City over the next year and said hundreds more could follow as the company finds its footing in the midwest.
Catalyst-backed BrightFarms, the No. 1 brand of locally grown packaged salads, announced plans for national expansion with new sustainable greenhouse farms in New England (Central MA), New York (Hudson Valley) and North Carolina. The three new greenhouses further the brand’s presence and add to BrightFarm’s network of local and sustainable farms across the Mid-Atlantic and into the South. The company currently operates greenhouses in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, supplying major retailers in a dozen major metro markets.
Catalyst portfolio company BrightFarms, the leading supplier of local produce to supermarkets, appointed Steve
Campione as its Chief Financial Officer.
Catalyst-backed BrightFarms is poised to bring its local greenhouse model to a nationwide audience with 15 hydroponic greenhouses to be built in the next three to five years as demand for locally-grown produce outweighs organic.
For QSRs, offering mobile order-ahead can be a double-edged sword. While it’s critical to boosting sales, it also comes with the expense of tackling card-not-present fraud. In the new Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, Chris Webb – CEO of Catalyst Investors-backed ChowNow – explains how ordering platforms can help by viewing customer interactions across restaurants to identify suspicious behavior, and by handling security measures behind the scenes to tackle fraud and reduce friction.
U.S. greenhouse company and Catalyst portfolio company BrightFarms says there is huge untapped potential in the locally grown produce market and believes the rapidly growing category is roughly where the organic sector was around 15 years ago.
Catalyst-backed BrightFarms recently harvested the first crop from its new 120,000-square-foot indoor greenhouse facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The company invited regional and state officials to the first harvest at the greenhouse located 45 minutes southeast of Dayton to demonstrate the economic impact the new greenhouse will have in the state. While local is the number one demand driver of produce, supermarkets have trouble sourcing the quantity they need, so BrightFarms aims to supply local produce at a commercial scale. The greenhouse is state-of-the-art in both its sustainability and production.
Catalyst-backed BrightFarms’ locally-grown lettuce and basil are currently in 650 stores including Walmart, Kroger, Ahold, and Albertsons locations. In two years, the brand has grown its distribution by 225% reaching a household penetration of 1.5 million.