Airmart

About Airmart

Airmart provides a SaaS-based e-commerce platform for food producers and other merchants to establish an online presence. Founded in 2018 by Leo Liu and Yunliang Jiang, the Redwood City-based company aims to make e-commerce more accessible, particularly for small, family-owned businesses and first-time entrepreneurs. The initial idea came to founder Maria Gregorio from a Nextdoor post about a community group buy for farm-fresh cherries, which led to the creation of a nonprofit that connected neighbors with farmers. The platform gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic as food businesses needed to quickly pivot to online ordering.

The company has secured a total of $16.4 million in funding over two rounds, with its latest Series A round in September 2023 raising $8.2 million from investors including a16z and Craft Ventures. This capital is intended to further develop their e-commerce solution for food producers. In the two years leading up to September 2023, Airmart merchants reportedly generated $100 million in revenue from 1.5 million orders across more than 200 cities.

Airmart's business model is centered on providing an affordable and user-friendly platform. It offers free store setups and charges for premium features on a pay-per-use or subscription basis. Paid features include customer messaging, marketing promotions, delivery services with route planning tools, and advanced analytics. Revenue is also generated from credit card transaction fees of 3.0% plus 30 cents, though vendors can bypass these fees by accepting payments through methods like Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle. A monthly subscription of $16 or $19 provides access to tools for managing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, additional store themes, and a customer database.

The platform is designed specifically for food businesses such as farms, chefs, bakeries, and seafood vendors, with features for pre-ordering, inventory management, and fulfillment. It allows sellers to create either a simple "Pop-Up store" or a more detailed "Full Store". Beyond food, the platform also supports merchants selling handmade goods, digital products, and consulting services. A key feature is its support for community group buying, a model popularized in Asian communities, which allows for bulk ordering to neighborhoods. For farmers, the mobile app is a significant benefit, allowing them to manage their online store while in the field.