Leaf Trade Secures $4.5M in New Funding to Streamline Cannabis Supply Chain

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on December 3, 2019, local time, U.S. tobacco trading company Leaf Trade announced the completion of a new $4.5 million funding round. The round was co-led by Hyde Park Angels (HPA) and Duke Software Investments, with participation from Chingona Ventures.

The new capital will help Leaf Trade expand into new markets to meet the needs of existing and potential customers, and bolster its data science and engineering teams.

Leaf Trade, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA, is an industry wholesale ordering platform that connects licensed cannabis suppliers with dispensaries.

Currently, cannabis suppliers in the market still rely primarily on phone calls, text messages, and emails to receive orders and communicate with customers. This approach is inefficient and time-consuming. Leaf Trade aims to streamline this process and enhance communication efficiency between suppliers and dispensaries through digital technology. On the Leaf Trade platform, suppliers can simplify all order fulfillment processes and increase sales through customizable storefronts. The platform also provides suppliers with analytics capabilities to help them grow their businesses. Dispensaries can leverage the data analytics features on the Leaf Trade platform to identify trending products, easily access samples and marketing materials, and track order fulfillment status in real time.

Michael Piermont, Chief Revenue Officer at Leaf Trade, stated, “We built our platform based on market research and user feedback to meet the needs of the industry. Our relationship with customers has evolved into a symbiotic partnership. The cannabis supply chain remains an emerging market, and we aim to transform this industry together with them.”

Jeff Kleban, a member of Hyde Park Angels and the Board of Directors at Leaf Trade, stated, “The robust customer usage data on the Leaf Trade platform underscores its leadership in the cannabis supply chain software market. Once customers adopt Leaf Trade’s platform, they never leave. This is why we believe Leaf Trade will become the industry standard for managing products in the cannabis market.”

This funding has provided strong momentum for the development of Leaf Trade, which has already signed partnership agreements with five major cannabis companies. As of October 2019, Leaf Trade’s business coverage had expanded from four states to twelve states across the United States. The company plans to extend its reach to 20 states by the end of 2019.

HPA, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA, is a venture capital firm focused on investing in companies at the seed, early, and late stages.

Chingona Ventures, established in 2019, is a venture capital firm that primarily invests in early-stage companies across the United States, which typically raise no more than $1 million in external funding.

(Compiled by: He Li)