Pepper is a technology company.
Pepper has raised $64.0M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Pepper.
Pepper has raised $64.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Pepper has raised $64.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Pepper's investors include Greylock, Imaginary Ventures, Jason Wang, Julius Genachowski, 9Yards Capital, Alate Partners, American Express Ventures, Amplify.LA, Jana Messerschmidt, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Craft Ventures, CRV.
Pepper is a technology company building an AI-powered revenue platform and digital operating system for independent food distributors in the supply chain. It offers comprehensive e-commerce solutions, including seamless ordering, payments, sales enablement, marketing tools, and ERP integrations, serving regional and specialty distributors like Sanwa Fresh Orlando, Seattle Fish Co., and Testa Produce to boost sales, efficiency, and customer relationships.[1][2][3][6] By digitizing manual processes in a fragmented industry, Pepper helps independents compete against larger players, delivering results like 23% sales increases, 10 hours saved per week, and 93% buyer retention.[3][6]
Pepper was founded in 2019 in New York by Bowie Cheung, Chetan Narain, and Ivana Tesanovic, who drew from their experience scaling Uber Eats into a billion-dollar business, alongside backgrounds at Google, Bain, and Siemens in operations, data, and enterprise software.[1][2][4] The idea emerged from observing how restaurants still ordered from distributors via phone, voicemail, or email, while consumer-facing digital transformation lagged in the supply chain—prompting the founders to create tailored tools for independents.[1][4] Early traction came from hands-on efforts: the team manually processed voicemails and data to understand workflows, then built in-house integrations for over 40 ERP systems with 200+ modules; key hires like Wes Finch (agriculture expert), Margaret Handcock (seafood specialist), and Jason Gunn (ex-US Foods leader) infused deep industry knowledge.[1][4]
Pepper rides the digital transformation wave in foodservice distribution, where independents face consolidation from giants but hold edges in relationships and agility amid rising e-commerce demands post-pandemic.[3][4] Timing aligns with AI adoption for supply chains, automating manual tasks like order entry in a $300B+ U.S. market still reliant on analog processes.[2][4] Favorable forces include operator needs for efficiency, data transparency, and personalized service, which Pepper amplifies via its network effects—strengthening the ecosystem by empowering regionals to grow revenue without losing their human touch.[1][3][6] It influences by setting standards for distributor tech, as seen in its customer base and tools modernizing B2B food ordering.
Pepper is poised to dominate as the go-to platform for independents, expanding AI capabilities like predictive analytics and further acquisitions to consolidate tools in a consolidating market.[4][5] Trends like AI-driven supply chain optimization and e-commerce mandates for distributors will accelerate adoption, potentially scaling to thousands of users as foodservice digitizes fully.[3][4] Its influence may evolve from niche enabler to industry standard, betting on independents' resilience—equipping them to sharpen their edge in a future where tech unlocks their full potential, much like it did for early digital pioneers in food delivery.[1][2][4]
Key people at Pepper.
Pepper has raised $64.0M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $30.0M Series B in May 2024.
