Barn2Door, an online platform that lets farms sell directly to consumers, has raised a $6 million Series A round of funding. Geekwire was first to report the news, writing that Bullpen Ventures led the round with participation from Quiet Capital, RAINE Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Global Founders Capital, Sugar Mountain Capital, and others. This brings the total amount of funding raised by Barn2Door to $11.6 million.
Barn2Door’s software helps independent farms through just about every step of the e-commerce process: inventory, fulfillment, packing, invoicing and support. A Barn2Door software subscription costs anywhere from $59 to $149 a month, depending on the scale of the farm operations.
This is certainly an opportune time for Barn2Door to raise additional capital. The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent shuttering of dine in restaurants and general stay-at-home suggestions, has spurred people to adopt online grocery shopping in record numbers. This rising tide has lifted a number independent farm-related boats including a spike in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) memberships, and an increase in sales for sites like CrowdCow and Grass Roots, both of which sells craft meats.
Barn2Door’s tool is also helping usher in a new wave of direct-to-consumer sales. Big brands like Pepsi and Impossible Foods each launched D2C channels this year. Chipotle launched a service allowing consumers to buy direct from its farm suppliers like Niman Ranch and McKaskle Family Farm. And smaller players like regional restaurant suppliers and startup CPG snack brands like Pig Out! and Renewal Mill are selling direct to consumers.
As this pandemic continues here in the U.S., there’s a good chance that buying direct from more sources will become the new normal for people, creating more opportunity for software services like Bar2Door’s.
