We buy and grow D2C brands in LatAm
Riogrande has raised $12.0M across 1 funding round.
Key people at Riogrande.
Riogrande was founded in 2020 by Federico Naides (Founder) and Tono Mandly (Founder).
Riogrande has raised $12.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Riogrande was founded in 2020 by Federico Naides (Founder) and Tono Mandly (Founder).
Riogrande has raised $12.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Riogrande's investors include Accel, Antler, Asylum Ventures, Benchmark, BITKRAFT Ventures, DCM, Entrée Capital Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Gradient Ventures, Investo.
Riogrande is an investment firm and brand incubator focused on acquiring and growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in Latin America, primarily targeting the emerging middle and lower classes. Its mission is to build strong local brands in sectors like home goods, kitchen, and beauty by both creating new brands from scratch and acquiring existing small and medium-sized marketplace sellers on platforms such as MercadoLibre and Amazon. Unlike typical e-commerce aggregators, Riogrande emphasizes rapid growth and automation of brand scaling, aiming to achieve growth in months that others take years to realize. The firm has demonstrated strong growth momentum, doubling revenue within a year and targeting $1 billion in topline revenue with 35% EBITDA margins, while already being profitable[1][2][3].
Founded in 2020 and formally launched in 2021 in Mexico City by Tono Mandly, Federico Naides, and Ivan Amelong, Riogrande emerged from the founders’ backgrounds in Rocket Internet, Delivery Hero, and other tech ventures. Tono Mandly, with experience expanding Grin Scooters across Latin America, co-founded Riogrande to address the gap in local brand development for Latin America's fast-growing but immature e-commerce market. The founders recognized that middle-class consumers often lacked access to affordable, quality local brands, which inspired their focus on incubating and acquiring brands that serve this demographic. Early traction included acceptance into Y Combinator’s winter batch and raising $12 million in seed funding led by Y Combinator and Wollef, with notable angel investors such as Arielle Zuckerberg and Justin Mateen[1][2][3].
Riogrande rides the wave of Latin America’s rapidly expanding e-commerce market, which is among the fastest-growing globally but remains underdeveloped in terms of local brand presence. The timing is critical as middle-class consumers increasingly demand affordable, quality goods that are locally produced rather than imported from China or the US. By focusing on local D2C brands, Riogrande taps into a market with strong growth potential and less competition than the saturated US Amazon aggregator space. Their approach influences the broader ecosystem by professionalizing and scaling Latin American e-commerce brands, fostering entrepreneurship, and improving supply chain efficiencies in the region[1][3][6].
Riogrande is positioned to become a leading force in Latin America’s D2C brand landscape, leveraging its early profitability and growth automation to scale aggressively. The firm’s next steps likely include closing a Series A funding round to accelerate acquisitions and technology development. Trends shaping their journey include the continued rise of e-commerce in Latin America, increasing internet penetration, and growing consumer demand for local brands. As Riogrande expands its portfolio, it may set new standards for brand incubation and growth in emerging markets, potentially influencing similar models in other regions. Their success will hinge on maintaining rapid growth while balancing profitability, solidifying their role as a key player in Latin America’s digital commerce transformation[1][3].
Key people at Riogrande.
Riogrande has raised $12.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $12.0M Seed in February 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2022 | $12.0M Seed | Accel, Antler, Asylum Ventures, Benchmark, BITKRAFT Ventures, DCM, Entrée Capital Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Gradient Ventures, Investo, K50 Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Magma Partners, Mayfield, Hans Tung, Seaya Cathay Latam Fund, Signia Venture Partners, Streamlined Ventures, Talis Capital, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Tribe Capital, Wollef Ventures, XFactor Ventures, Y Combinator, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Cato Sælid, Charles Delingpole, Eugene Wei, Javier Diaz Evans, Jonathan Swanson, Julius Genachowski, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Michael Pennington, Rob Dobson, Tom Eisenmann, Xen Lategan |
