A group of ex-consumer-business executives have launched a Minneapolis company that wants to turn Amazon brands into household names — and it just landed a $150M investment.
Suma Brands said it will use the Series A funding to accelerate its pace of acquisitions of fulfillment-by-Amazon (FBA) businesses and expand its portfolio of e-commerce brands.
The round was led by Pace Capital and Material alongside a credit facility led by i80 Group.
Minneapolis-based Suma Brands has operated in stealth mode since its founding in May 2020. Now that it made its debut, the company said it's hiring e-commerce, brand-management and supply chain talent to expand its operating platform. The company is also planning offices in New York City and Los Angeles.
"We're seeing founders of Amazon FBA businesses lay the groundwork for some amazing consumer brands and we've been really impressed with what they've accomplished," said Co-founder and CEO Andrew Savage. "We're thrilled to reward founders for what they've built and leverage our enterprise-level e-commerce platform to scale their brands to the next level."
In addition to Savage, whose previous experience includes stints at Target Corp. and Amazon.com, Suma's other co-founders include Matt Salzberg, founder and former CEO of Blue Apron; Andy Salamon, co-founding investor in Hims and Hers, and Danielle David Parks.
One of Suma's portfolio company's is Lone Cone, the top kid's rain-boots brand on Amazon.
Lone Cone's founder, Annalisa DeMarta, said working with Suma has been a completely different experience than what she imagined selling a business would be like.
"Suma understood the brand's goals and potential and had a strong desire to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes," DeMarta said in a statement. "I've always had big dreams for Lone Cone and I'm fortunate I found a partner who has the vision and resources to achieve those dreams."
