Cureate Connect, an online platform that connects emerging food & beverage entrepreneurs to big business and institutional buyers, is officially launching on January 23rd, 2017. For the past 6 months while the site has been in beta, cureateconnect.com has experienced rapid growth. While it started with 70 hand-picked vendors, the platform will officially launch with approximately 250 unique local vendors with 500+ products in the Washington DC and Baltimore Metro areas. On the launch date, buyers will be able to access this ever-growing database of small businesses with a multi-tiered subscription service starting at $64.99/month. The site will also be open to any new food & beverage vendor interested in setting up a free profile to compete for new business opportunities. For more information, visit cureateconnect.com or email marisa@cureate.co.
In a hyper-connected era, access still matters. After 10 years in the food & beverage industry, working in government to Fortune 500 retail management to food-tech startups, Cureate CEO Kim Bryden observed that many food businesses were struggling to make the leap to long-term sustainability, and that this was partly due to access. “Sales at farmers markets and a core group of loyal customers can keep a passionate business owner going, but it won’t pay for health insurance or give the flexibility to make new hires,” said Bryden. “Oftentimes, the only way to make that leap is to secure larger business contracts to maintain a stable cash flow.”
At the same time, Bryden was consulting for major institutions with new initiatives to source from local food & beverage businesses. Management accustomed to procuring all their on-site goods from one faceless distributor were excited at the prospect of buying local, but daunted at the logistical task of finding and sourcing local suppliers to meet their demand. “I saw there was a way to systematize this process,” said Bryden, “and give all the people at the table a frictionless, equitable way to meet their goals.”
One of the site’s early success stories is The Big Bean Theory, owned and operated by Eula McDowell. “The Big Bean Theory has met with several great opportunities since signing up with Cureate Connect. Through a partnership with Hungry Harvest, we were able to launch our dried soup line of "Beanie Bags”,’ said McDowell. “The Big Bean Theory was also selected as a vendor at a DC-based event, which gave us the opportunity to extend our reach beyond the Baltimore area. We have been able to hire 2 additional staff members and continue to use the platform as a way of seeking out opportunities to expand.”
Job growth is a natural byproduct of these new connections, which is why City Seeds (a Humanim social enterprise) quickly saw the benefit of joining Cureate Connect. “If we can create more opportunities for small businesses to succeed, that means more jobs in our city,” said Deborah Haust, Director of City Seeds. “Cureate Connect has been instrumental in facilitating connections with local vendors for our kiosks — one of which just opened in the 20-story Harbor Point Exelon Tower and is now serving 1500+ employees.”
The City Seeds kiosk carries a range of locally-made goods, including two products from DC-based Misteka Foods: French-inspired cumin sticks and organic fruit cups. “We only joined Cureate Connect a couple of months ago and already we’re seeing remarkable results!” said Iman Moussa, owner of Misteka Foods. “I’ve been hustling for over a year to find distribution and in just a few short weeks on Cureate Connect, we were being carried in the City Seeds kiosk.”
Kim Bryden is the CEO & Founder of Cureate and Cureate Connect. Cureate has worked with emerging retail outlets like Glen's Garden Market; to nationally acclaimed food brands such as Beefsteak, a José Andrés concept; to developing and running a year-long educational curriculum called School of Food. With a mission to create more interconnected, economically-vibrant communities, the team built Cureate Connect; an online procurement platform that matches large businesses and institutions with food & beverage entrepreneurs through new business opportunities. Follow Cureate @cureateco on Facebook and Instagram.
