Brands are consistently seeking to optimize their sourcing of packaging materials and ingredient suppliers to swiftly fulfill consumer needs. Despite this effort, the process often still requires tedious navigation through trade shows.
Keychain is an innovative platform powered by artificial intelligence that aims to connect the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector with manufacturing partners through its extensive database of over 30,000 manufacturers and 20,000 brands and retailers. The company has successfully secured a $5 million investment, led by the European retail chain Continente, which operates under Sonae Distribuição, Portugal’s largest retail entity.
The company’s founders, Oisin Hanrahan (CEO) and Umang Dua, previously established the home services platform Handy, which was acquired by ANGI Homeservices. They joined forces with Jordan Weitz to launch Keychain.
“There are easily 200 to 300 trade shows each year for manufacturers,” Hanrahan shared with TechCrunch. “One of these events can attract up to 70,000 attendees. Brands and retailers invest heavily to make connections, yet there is no digital solution available — and no single manufacturer or retailer can effectively organize data using AI. We’ve invested approximately $3 million in developing our data asset, making us about 10 to 15 times more efficient thanks to our AI capabilities.”
He highlighted that traditional brokers have often taken advantage of information asymmetry, which inflates the costs of goods. Keychain aims to leverage AI to remove these fees and reduce related expenses.
“We launched just under a year ago, and it took us a couple of months to fine-tune our approach,” he remarked. “After that, our data began to gain traction, and everything started to align.”
“Brands and retailers utilize our platform to submit their projects. They are currently presenting over a billion dollars in project submissions, and we began extending our services to U.S. manufacturers a few months ago,” he elaborated.
Hanrahan mentioned that the startup is set to introduce two new platforms — one focused on packaging and the other on ingredients — while also receiving a strategic investment from one of Europe’s largest retailers. “While we aren’t disclosing specific timelines, we aim to launch in Europe later this year,” he indicated.
Since November 2023, Keychain has amassed a total of $38 million from prominent venture firms such as BoxGroup, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and SV Angel, as well as from major CPG companies including General Mills, The Hershey Company, and Schreiber Foods.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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