On Monday, South Korea’s Tridge, an online trade and market intelligence platform that matches global food and agriculture buyers and sellers, announced that it has received a $60 million Series C venture round from Forest Partners, the Seoul-based alternative investment firm that manages around $300 million in client assets.
In a statement announcing the round, Tridge said it will use the new capital to help it scale in response to demand from food companies searching globally for alternative sources as traditional supply lines face increasing disruption and risk. Specifically, Tridge plans to set up businesses and co-packing/warehousing facilities in 50 strategic countries.
The latest venture round values Tridge at $500 million, up from $140 million since April 2020, putting the firm on track to achieve unicorn ($1 billion-plus) valuation in the foreseeable future. Tridge’s platform currently draws over 300,000 monthly visitors to source agricultural products. The company is aiming for $300 million in fulfillment revenue by the end of 2021. Previous Tridge investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia and Greenwich, Connecticut-based early-stage venture fund Activant Capital.
“The food and agriculture sector is one of the most fragmented sectors, and buyers and suppliers struggle to find the right information or partner,” Tridge CEO Hoshik Shin said in a comment on the funding round. “Our market intelligence works as a vessel to help them come together; we are the bridge to connect and help them start new trading relationships in the most efficient and reliable method as possible.”
In addition to matching global buyers and sellers of agricultural products on its platform and providing food supply chain analysis and market intelligence, Tridge also offers a certified vendor program, whereby it buys directly from producers and subsequently acts as a global distributor to a network of buyers that include some of the world’s most recognizable food and consumer multinationals, including Wal-Mart, Kellogg’s, Costco, ABInbev, Indofood, Sysco, Dole, Carrefour, Nestle, Mitsui & Co. Ltd, and others.
