We’re back again to share the latest highlights we’re seeing in venture, in retail tech, and in our portfolio..
This month’s top theme: retail theft.
Dive into the fascinating developments shaping the retail landscape, from David’s insightful discussion with Deborah Weinswig on emerging retail trends to the brazen tactics of professional shoplifters.
One other thing about Deborah…She has a new book out, “Next Generation Retail,” and it’s a great read. We highly recommend it.
A few portfolio highlights:
1. Cooklist has posted some stunning growth numbers this year:
- They now have over 700,000 registered users
- In the first quarter they had a grocery transaction volume exceeding $160M
- The LTV of a user increased by over 75%
- Conversion rate of new users to paying subscribers increased by 78%
- Annual Recurring Revenue increased 267%
- 56% of users report that Cooklist saves them $140/mo on average; 5% report that it saves them over $400/month
- 70% of users report that Cooklist saves them 3 hours/month on average; 21% report that it saves the over 8 hours/month
Cooklist also launched their new 44x faster AI-Powered Recipe Photo Import which has cut down the average import time from 11 minutes to just 15 seconds!
Cooklist is a free app to build a meal plan, order your groceries and find recipes to cook with the ingredients you have.
2. Neighborhood Goods recently opened its fourth store, this one in the Fashion Island development in Newport Beach, California. The company is now officially coast-to-coast, with stores in California, Texas, and New York.
Neighborhood Goods is a new type of department store, featuring an ever-changing landscape of the world’s most thoughtful, progressive, and exciting brands.
3. Pensa Systems was recognized as the 2023 Shelf Monitoring Solution of the Year by the 2023 RetailTech Breakthrough awards.
Pensa Systems is a syndicated data solution that drives growth for CPG brands and retailers through accurate and actionable shelf visibility.
