Currently, SnackNation curates and delivers snacks to “hundreds and thousands of people” across America primarily at their offices and in their homes, but with this latest round of funds, led by 3L Capital, the young company is “looking at other unique moments in a consumer’s day where we can connect with them in a meaningful way,” Kelly told FoodNavigator-USA.
Up until now this has primarily been in offices, Kelly said, explaining, “This is where people, especially the younger generation, spends the majority of their time,” making offices “the most important channel for brands to build a relationship with their key customers.”
But as SnackNation grows, he said, it can expand its reach to consumers at other points where they may need a snack, but the options are more limited, such as in hospitality and transportation.
Improved curation capabilities
As it explores new distribution channels, SnackNation will ensure the right snacks get into the hands of the right consumers at the right time, by also using the new funds to “improve our curation capabilities, which really comes down to expanding our technology, engineering and data team,” Kelly said.
He explained that SnackNation ensures its snack curations are “world class” and “our knowledge of the emerging brand space is unparalleled” by leveraging the consumer insights it culls from its direct-to-consumer business.
“We see our B2C business as one that is primarily focused on capturing consumer insights and providing data analytics and business intelligence back to our brands,” Kelly said. This includes intelligence such as how brands can improve their products, what are brands’ most profitable customer segments and what are the best ways, places and times to reach target consumers.
Brands can use this information “to create a better product and more effectively target the right demographic group and their most profitable customer segment,” he said. He added this in turn “allows us to provide an even richer and better experience to the customers who buy the product. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
As part of the platform update, SnackNation plans to improve the user interface for brands, as well as improve segmentation and collect more data, Kelly said.
Streamlining logistics
The new funds also will allow SnackNation to expand its sales team and set up additional warehouses in new geographies to reach its customers faster, Kelly said.
To make all of this possible, Kelly added, there should be sufficient funding to “potentially acquire a company or two to assist us in these areas and with our objectives.”