The world needs to change the way it eats.

Part of the unimaginably gigantic problem of feeding the world and slashing the 30% of food we waste is the antiquated global food distribution network. 

Helping tackle it are SMB food and beverage businesses.  

We’re talking about bakers, brewers, growers, artisans, specialty chefs, and subscription veggie boxes and meal kits. They often have specialities - dietary or planetary - like veggie, vegan, grass-fed, meat-free, locally produced, net zero.

These SMB F&B brands are the fastest-growing businesses in the global food industry.

But the problem is these businesses are hard to scale, hard to distribute across old systems littered with middlemen, and hard to get traction outside of their immediate backyards.

Traditional distributors (like major supermarket chains) are expensive, opaque, and, as a result, missing huge opportunities to connect paying consumers with smaller brands.

Not to mention the natural stress points that come as part of the menu in food: perishability, health and safety, the staggering social and environmental impacts of waste, and incoming legal requirements to report on waste and emissions. 

Prep enables food producers and brands to efficiently scale B2B distribution anywhere.

It’s far more scalable than old-school models. 

It’s end-to-end, from bulk pick-up to storage to fulfilment. It integrates with producers’ existing ordering systems. And so far, it’s enjoying a near 100% satisfaction rate for transparency and reliability.

Meet the product

Prep’s DaaS - distribution as a service - model automatically aggregates storage and delivery options, creating a third-party logistics (3PL) network, and cutting out a chunk of middlemen costs for both sides. 

The model is asset-light, manifesting as a software layer that connects infrastructure rather than owning fleets or warehouses (that’s how the scalability comes in).

We’re excited about its defensibility. Prep’s main competitor is the old-school distribution network, and there are a few players tackling different layers of the industry like sales, delivery, and ordering platform. 

But no one in Australia is currently trying to create a network of this scale. 

Why? Because, as cofounder Mathieu puts bluntly, “logistics is a huge pain – it’s very hard”.

The upshot is: better pricing, better choice, better service, and better transparency - whether the client is “a local guy next door, or an international FMCG player.”

Distributors can access hundreds of new brands, using customer data to tell them where the trends lie, without having to research, sit through pitch meetings, or configure new delivery arrangements each time.

Small brands get an audience with these major distributors (again without the pitch meetings and travelling sales that pull them away from their craft).

“Prep has made a scaling my business both achievable and enjoyable. The guidance, vision, and genuine passion from the Prep team, has been phenomenal, along with the platform itself.”

– Emma Shearman, founder SISUU

Meet the founders

Prep co-founder Sean Miller, originally from California, studied marketing before going into advertising directly after uni. But he’d wanted to open a restaurant since high school, and he did just that in Sydney, running several for around eight years. 

Mathieu Jamet studied computer science in Paris. He started out in banking and then moved to FMCG, working on tech solutions for sales and marketing at French multinational food corp, Danone. 

The pair are united by “a love of food in the same way - a very technical way”.

At every meal, Mathieu is focusing on fibre ratios and croissant butteriness levels while Sean is thinking about the correct layering hierarchy of carbs, meat, and cheese in a sandwich (there are the French/Californian influences at play).

It’s this sheer awareness and attention to detail, combined with caring about nutrition and sustainability, that makes them the right people for the problem.

And with the AI and cloud technologies that enable efficient 3PL, and the growing willingness of industry members to use them, we think it’s the right timing too.

Just for starters

So far, Prep has delivered 30,000+ cartons across NSW, QLD, WA, SA, and Singapore. It’s now in a position to enable and scale third party logistics in every state.

They’ve signed with WHSmith, Canva, Sydney Airport, Qantas, and are in trials with Australia's largest grocery retailer (watch this space).

They launched the Prep Partners Program in Dec 2023 to help brands scale and generate leads, target promotion directly to buying decision makers, and enable sampling and business development.

Other recent upgrades include an AI distribution assistant (named Jacky), who will initially help buyers with orders and products, and later help vendors with all of their sales, distribution, forecasting, and insights.

Plus there’s an initiative to help creators / influencers learn about launching a food or beverage product by connecting them with manufacturers, food scientists, and designers, and education about wholesale and distribution. 

We’re very excited about Prep’s potential for scaling and upselling. Brands can promote new products and incentivise buyers to try them good with a dynamic discount tool across their entire order, and the founders plan to implement smart upselling at checkout using AI.

These customers are also extremely sticky as they’re time-poor and don’t want to add work or changes in ordering of products.

We’ll be working with Sean and Mathieu to validate the Distribution-as-a-Service concept, take the MVP to PMF and then GTM - if that’s enough acronyms for you. If not, we’ll be supporting the guys with their UX and CX, as well as looking at the cost model, and plans for international expansion.

The global food service distribution system market is set to grow to nearly AUD $10b by 2030. 

We’re looking forward to helping Prep take a big bite out of that market opportunity.