Korean digital food trading platform raises $11m

Founded in 2014, Tridge, which also offers food market intelligence, raised $10.5 million in a Series A round last year. That was also led by SoftBank. In the same year, Tridge completed the development of its platform. It connects agricultural producers from developing countries directly with large buyers like Walmart, Kellog’s and South Korea’s Lotte Mart through online channels. 

Tridge says the platform allows buyers to source from more than 60,000 verified suppliers offering over 1,000 types of food products. It also enables enterprises to adopt ethical sourcing practices and increase average incomes for food producers by removing many of the middlemen involved in transactions.

The company plans to double the number of products available on the platform by 2022 and expand its network of employees across markets. It currently has people in 40 countries who liaise with food suppliers and verify product quality before approving listings on the platform.

Tridge says global food supply chains have been significantly disrupted in recent weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many governments have imposed export restrictions in a bid to store necessary goods for their citizens. Meanwhile, the problem has been compounded by rising labor shortages at production sites.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Softbank
• Agritech
• South Korea
• Agriculture