Trying to Make CPG Customers More Loyal, Repeat Raises $1.5M

• Repeat aims to make consumer packaged goods (CPG) customers more loyal by sending personalized reminders.
• The company raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Harlem Capital, Techstars and Mucker Capital.
• The two co-founders met at a Venice startup and were planning to get married in April until COVID-19 happened.

The good news for ecommerce companies is that the pandemic has driven U.S. consumers online. Up to half say they buy household supplies with a click, according to McKinsey & Company, but 70% of buyers never return to a brand for another purchase.

Repeat, formerly known as PRZM, aims to change that and make customers more loyal by figuring out their unique consumption habits. The company uses the data to remind shoppers with email nudges, it is time to restock. "Hi Anna. Are you ready for another face wash?" reads one such reminder. When customers go back to the site the items they "need" will be waiting for them in their cart.

"We help brands turn customers into repeat customers," said co-founder and CEO Kim Stiefel. "We're essentially removing the friction from the replenish experience, allowing brands to unlock more repeat revenue."

Repeat announced Wednesday it has raised $1.5 million in seed funding in a round led by Harlem Capital. Existing investors Techstars, Act One Ventures and Mucker Capital returned while Break Trail Ventures, Vamos Ventures and Wedbush Ventures also came on board.

Repeat's business has been booming due to the accelerated shift to ecommerce. "We were already seeing consumers come online, but with COVID it dramatically changed," said Stiefel. Case in point: She says a toilet paper brand that is a client saw a 3000x increase in conversions.

Stiefel and her co-founder Sarah Wissel met in 2015 while the two were colleagues at Vytmn, a short-lived Venice startup.

Stiefel and her co-founder Sarah Wissel met in 2015 while the two were colleagues at Vytmn, a short-lived Venice startup. It soon ran out of money, but the two started dating as well as hatching an idea for a new company that would be a subscription brand. "There was nobody else I wanted to do it with," said Wissel.

But like many startups, they pivoted. "During the process of building a brand we discovered subscribing to products is not a great experience," said Stiefel. The two decided to focus on using their own data to help other consumer packaged goods companies retain customers.

Stiefel says their skills complement each other since she is good at strategy, sales and bringing in revenue while Wissel is more analytic and focused on the product. "There's no power struggle," Stiefel said. "We're big fans of each other."

The co-founders were planning to get married in April until courthouses closed. "They are now offering marriages on Zoom and so I think we're going to do that," said Stiefel.