Consumer goods software company Aforza pockets $ 22 million to open US headquarters – TechCrunch

Aforza, which develops cloud and mobile applications for consumer goods companies, has announced a $ 22 million Series A funding round led by DN Capital.

The London-based company’s technology is built on the Salesforce and Google Cloud platforms so consumer goods companies can digitally transform product distribution and customer engagement to tackle issues like unprofitable promotions. and declining market share, Aforza co-founder and CEO Dominic Dinardo told TechCrunch. Using artificial intelligence, the company recommends products and can predict the order a retailer can place with promotions and pricing based on factors like locations.

The global consumer packaged goods applications market is expected to reach $ 15 billion by 2024. However, the industry is still using outdated platforms which in some cases result in a 5% loss in sales when the products are out of stock, Dinardo said. .

Dinardo and his co-founders Ed Butterworth and Nick Eales started the company in 2019. All Salesforce veterans, they saw how underserved the consumer goods industry was in terms of the digital transition. .

Aforza is Dinardo’s first time running a business. However, since his time at Salesforce, he feels he received an education like going to “Marc Benioff’s School of SaaS”. The company raised an undisclosed funding round in 2019 with Bonfire Ventures, Daher Capital, DN Capital, Next47 and Salesforce Ventures.

Then the pandemic happened, which attracted many investors, which was validation of what Aforza was doing, Dinardo said.

“Even before the pandemic, the consumer goods industry faced new market entrants and horrific legacy systems, but the pandemic then cut off the pathways to customers,” he added. “Our mission is to improve the lives of consumers by delivering more sustainable products and packaging, but also to help businesses be more agile and manage change as the biggest change occurs. “

Bonfire Ventures, Daher Capital and Next47 joined DN Capital in the round.

Brett Queener, a partner at Bonfire Ventures, said he helped incubate Aforza with Dinardo and Eales, which his company typically does not do, but saw a unique opportunity to enter downstairs.

Also working at Salesforce, he saw the consumer goods industry as a major industry with a compelling reason to make a technological change as customers began to expect instant uptime and there were tons of startups. emerging markets entering the direct-to-consumer space.

These startups don’t have a year or two to muster the kind of technology it took to scale. With Aforza, they can create a product that works both online and off any device, Queener said. And rather than scheduling promotions on a quarterly basis, businesses can change their promotional spend in real time.

“It’s time for Aforza to talk to the world about their technology, grow their presence in the US and Europe, invest more in R&D and run the Salesforce playbook,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about in this round.”

Dinardo intends to use the new funding to continue R&D and double its workforce over the next six months as it establishes its new US headquarters in the northeast. She already works with clients in 20 countries.

Regarding growth, Dinardo said he was using his past experiences at startups like Veeva and Vlocity, which was acquired by Salesforce in 2020, as a benchmark for Aforza’s success.

“We have the money and the expertise – now we have to take a moment to breathe, hire passionate people to do it and invest in new levels of products, digital assets and even payments,” he said. declared.