After announcing a huge
$4 million seed funding round a few weeks ago,
StockUp (previously known as
Price Spotting) unveils the latest version of its iOS
app today. With the launch, StockUp will be able to provide support for users across the United States. Additionally, the company announces a partnership with Coca-Cola.
A beta version of StockUp launched in January and was meant only for District users but "organically, word has spread," says Neil Kataria, CEO of StockUp Commerce, the company behind the app. "We have people [using the beta] in every state. Today's release includes more products, more prices and more stores."
StockUp's platform allows users to compare prices on items in grocery stores. The new release focuses on personalization. "You can save favorite products and favorite stores," Kataria explains. "You can create weekly purchase lists—for home and for the office—and compare baskets of products across local stores." The app will also let users know when certain products are on sale.
The current enterprise version of the app, which is now called StockUp for Business, is now free, reflecting a change in StockUp's monetization strategy. "Businesses can publish their products to our platform," Kataria says. "We're giving them a mobile tool to digitize their inventory on our platform."
StockUp is now focused on monetizing through brand and retail partners. One example is an app-based "mission" for Coca-Cola that will give that brand prime space on the app's home screen and will reward users for scanning certain Coke products in stores and at home. Users earn points for every product and price that they scan and enter into the platform. The points can then be redeemed for cash. Missions accumulate additional points for users.
Kataria is also working with retailers who might use StockUp as a lead generation and referral platform.
And the grocery delivery services that just seem to keep growing in popularity? "There are absolutely real ways to power Postmates and Instacart and others," he says. "There is a huge play there that we will want to triple down on."
"We're getting good validation from our users," Kataria says. "We had an oversubscribed seed round. We might have an expansion round soon."
Kataria is looking to grow his current team of 15. "We're expanding much more quickly than we thought," he says. "We're hiring 10 more [people] immediately. Talent is the only way we'll be able to maintain our momentum." Recent senior-level hires include Andy Ellwood, formerly in business development at Waze, and Allan Bunch, data architect from AOL.