How often do the grocery checkout coupons and weekly circulars end up in the trash? To combat this challenge, one Tucson-based startup is helping grocers target price-conscious shoppers through their mobile devices.
Recoleta Digital Media, a personalized grocery circular system, has raised an undisclosed sum of Series A-2 funding.
Their platform creates digitally driven personalized circulars with offers, coupons, and more, based on a shopper’s purchasing history.
The fund was led by angel groups Desert Angels of Tucson and Arizona Tech Investors of Phoenix.
Jim Goulka, managing director, Arizona Technology Investors, said “Recoleta could be a game changer. Printed coupons offer lots of discounts on things people don’t buy; they just litter the mailbox and the recycling bin.
Goulka said there were three “levels of winners in [Recoleta’s] business model” that made it especially appealing for their members and ATIF Sidecar II Fund.
“The personalization of the coupons: shoppers see deals only on the items they regularly buy. Harvesting data from shopper loyalty cards, Recoleta provides shoppers, in advance, all the deals available at their favorite stores. This includes not only the standard coupons but also store discounts and manufacturers specials. The shopper gets the best prices on things she wants; the grocers get the shoppers into the stores (always a good thing for them), and the consumer packaged goods companies greatly improve their coupon redemptions,” he said.
CEO Recoleta Alan Alexander said in a press release this raise “will help Recoleta take its personalized offer platform product to more grocers, and more shoppers, creating the critical mass we need.”
Curtis Gunn, chairman, Desert Angels said, “Recoleta is another company on a growing list of investments in which Desert Angels and AZ Tech Investors have worked very closely together. The two angel groups have collaborated very closely on a number of projects with the outcome being larger investment rounds being made in startups by mostly Arizona-based investors. This only serves to improve the ecosystem as a whole.”
Recoleta’s personal grocery circular system is one of the many efforts to steer grocers away from traditional advertising. In 2011, the grocery industry spent more than $11 billion on printing and distribution for traditional circulars.
The circular system is provided to grocers free-of-charge as a store-branded tablet and smartphone apps. This year Recoleta’s platform is rolling out at Basha’s stores according to Gunn.
Recoleta was a winner in the Fall 2013 Arizona Innovation Challenge, taking home $250,000.
Read more about startups in Arizona at AZ Tech Beat
