Dive Brief:
- Replenysh, a software and supply chain company that maps and connects brands to sources of recycled content, has raised $8 million in series A funding. Replenysh aims to scale operations and grow its network of recycled material suppliers and buyers across the country.
- Venture capital firm M13 led the investment, along with participation from Incite, Kindred Ventures, Floodgate Fund and other angel investors.
- Replenysh also hired Andrew Langtry for its newly revamped chief operating officer position. Langtry has “deep experience in scaling marketplaces, especially supply-constrained marketplaces,” and will help advance Replenysh’s expansion plans, said CEO Mark Armen.
Dive Insight:
Replenysh, which formed in 2016 and received a $2 million round of seed funding in 2020, aims to scale its business as brand demand for recycled content rises amid mandates and other policies. At the same time, supply chain and sourcing uncertainties have affected access to high-quality recycled materials, Armen said.
While traditional recycling systems such as MRFs are a cornerstone of managing that supply, Replenysh aims to widen the reach by identifying sources such as hotel chains, restaurants, college campuses and other recyclable materials generators. Replenysh works with operators that can collect and process the material, and Replenysh also tracks the material throughout the supply chain.
The company also offers software that maps collection sites, verifies sources of recycled materials, tracks where it originates and helps connect processors and manufacturers with that supply. Replenysh has previously worked with major brands like PepsiCo, Walmart and Coca Cola, according to its website.
The data helps brands provide more transparency and reliability into their recycled content sourcing, he said. For example, Replenysh might identify “key accounts” that supply a major brand’s products and collect target material at those locations. That material then goes back into the brand’s supply chain, he said in an interview.
“Every brand today is in a supply chain crunch — not just for new materials, but recycled ones too,” he added in a statement announcing the series A funding. “We’re building the precision recovery grid for recycled materials that gives brands total visibility and control.”
Anna Barber, partner at M13, said “the timing feels exactly right for this idea” because of strong buy-in from brands, recyclers and operators. “The tools are in place to allow a company like Replenysh to stitch all these pieces together that are already there.”
New COO Andrew Langtry, previously vice president and general manager for tech solutions company WM Technology, will help lead strategy, operations and market expansion aspects of that expansion. One major focus will be the supply side of the business, Langtry said in a statement. His work will be to address “the biggest bottleneck in material sourcing: consistent, clean supply.”
Replenysh’s recent projects include plugging into California’s glass recycling system, prompted by updates to the state bottle bill that added wine and liquor bottles into the program last year. The project aims to help major brands, such as liquor brands, that have recycled glass content goals.
Replenysh has worked to expand the local glass recycling supply chain by reaching out to bars, restaurants, music venues and college campuses that had previously been disposing of glass bottles, Armen said. Instead of that glass going to disposal, Replenysh now connects those volumes with processors, collecting almost 1 million pounds in the first eight weeks of the program, he said.
Other Replenysh projects across the country have focused on expanding materials collections in smaller, more rural communities without recycling programs.
Last year, Replenysh partnered with Every Can Counts U.S. to launch a “cans for cash” aluminum beverage can recycling drop-off and buyback program in communities with limited recycling access. Replenysh provided the tech platform and managed network operations and data collection for the program.
It has also helped Jackson, Mississippi, collect and recycle an influx of thousands of pounds of PET water bottles generated during the city’s drinking water crisis in 2022.
Armen said the series A funding will help Replenysh “dig deep” to strengthen the work they’re doing in regional markets while also setting sights on more national initiatives.
“Instead of doing a little material in a lot of markets, how do we do a lot of material in key markets and create that playbook, then copy and paste it in every market in the country?” he said.
Expansion plans also come as major brands determine how to insulate themselves as much as possible from uncertainties related to anticipated tariffs. Armen said some brands he works with have reached out for help finding more domestic sources for aluminum, for example.
“Building this new domestic recovery infrastructure keeps the supply domestic, and that limits our exposure to the global uncertainty that we see today,” he said. “Brands, and ultimately, consumers, have to pay the price for poor recovery infrastructure. I think everything's connected. If we can build better, more resilient supply chains based off better domestic infrastructure, everyone benefits from that.”
