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Misfits Market is raising a glass to the end of Dry January. Starting today, the sustainable online grocery platform is adding wine to its offerings, its first foray into alcohol.
Selections span red, white, rosé, and sparkling, and are sold in “curated” bundles of three ($35.99+) and six ($92.99+), with an emphasis on sustainable farming methods, like less grape pruning and less use of water and pesticides, Chief Strategy Officer Kai Selterman told Retail Brew.
- It’s also going for value by sourcing from regions like Sicily and South Africa, which aren’t as well-known for their wines.
Another round: Wine is Misfits’ latest stride in becoming a one-stop shop, a priority for the startup after raking in $425 million in funding in last year. Starting with “ugly” produce in 2018, the company says it doubled its SKU count to 500 by the end of 2021 across meat, seafood, alt-protein, eggs, and traditional and plant-based dairy. (The plan is to double it again in the next six months.)
- Other alcoholic bevs like beer and cider may follow, Selterman said.
“The more typical grocery categories we can offer on Misfits Market, the better and more convenient the experience ultimately is for the customer,” he told us.
- And for Misfits? It said it’s seen its active customer base and order volume grow 5x over the past year (but didn’t share figures).
Next up: Selterman said the platform is eyeing milk, and mulling frozen and prepared foods as well—aka “things that customers really look for every week in a grocery shop.” And within existing categories, Misfits hopes to add more staples like canned items and grains.
- To support all this growth, it’s hiring within marketing, operations, product, and tech engineering, he noted.
Plus, the company is this close to its goal to be in all contiguous US states. (You’re next, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.)—EC