Innovation That Matters

An Etsy for artisanal food

Retail

Consumers interested in handmade goods already have online marketplace Etsy to help them find new treasures, and now Foodzie aims to bring similar capabilities to the food lovers of the world. Based in Boulder, Colo., Foodzie is an online marketplace dedicated to helping consumers discover and buy food from small artisan producers and growers. The site acts as an aggregator that focuses on gourmet and organic health foods, allowing small producers to set up storefronts to display and sell their products. Though Foodzie hasn’t yet officially launched its full marketplace, three producers are up and running in a “sneak preview” version of the site: Seth Ellis Chocolatier, Boulder Popcorn and Tetulia Teas, all out of Colorado. Nicely designed producer pages feature not just a selection of products for sale online, but also information on ingredients and allergens, tags, photos and background details on the people behind the store. Foodzie operates on a commission-based model whereby producers pay the company a fee of 20 percent for each transaction conducted through the site, allowing the producers to keep a full 80 percent of what they charge. (Traditional retailers, by contrast, often charge fees as high as 50 percent.) Foodzie was founded as part of the 2008 TechStars incubator program, and is currently seeking USD 350,000 in seed funding. Not only is it another nice example of a curated marketplace–allowing consumers and small producers to find each other as never before–it’s also one artisan food makers will want to get in on as soon as possible! Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

Email: bizdev@foodzie.com

Website: www.foodzie.com

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