independent-grocers
(4)
AppCard, Inc.
AppCard is a New York-based loyalty marketing and shopper analytics platform built for independent grocers and multi-location retailers. It captures SKU-level purchase data at the point of sale, then uses machine learning to deliver personalized offers, digital coupons and automated campaigns that help brick-and-mortar stores retain customers and grow sales. Founded in 2011 by ICQ co-founder Yair Goldfinger, the company serves thousands of independent grocers reaching tens of millions of shoppers, and has expanded into co-branded payment cards.
Homesome
Homesome is an AI-first grocery commerce (g-commerce) platform that helps independent and regional grocers compete online. It packages a branded website, a unified mobile app, AI-driven personalization and search, a pick-and-pack fulfillment app, and a headless API suite into one system that plugs into a store's existing POS and loyalty programs. Founded by former Microsoft engineer Rahul Chabukswar, the company pivoted from running its own grocery-delivery service to powering the digital storefronts of chains like Strack & Van Til, Erewhon, Caputo's and Berkot's Super Foods.
Vori
Vori is a San Francisco-based SaaS company building the all-in-one operating system for independent grocery stores. Their platform, VoriOS, combines AI-powered point-of-sale, inventory management, automated ordering, pricing automation, loyalty programs, and back-office analytics into a single system — giving independent grocers the same technological leverage that Walmart and Amazon use against them. Founded in 2019 by a third-generation grocer and Stanford/Cornell engineers with backgrounds at SpaceX, Lyft, and Stripe, Vori has processed over $500 million in payments across 140+ stores in 55+ cities, and raised $50 million total including a $22M Series B in May 2026.
Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill is the co-founder and CEO of Vori, a San Francisco-based B2B operating system for the grocery industry. A Stanford graduate and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Hill grew up surrounded by grocery — his grandparents ran a small store in Oklahoma and his parents spent 40+ years in the industry. He channeled that heritage into Vori, which he co-founded in 2019 with Tre Kirkman and Robert Pinkerton to modernize the technology stack powering America's independent and regional supermarkets. Vori's AI-powered platform, VoriOS, handles point-of-sale, inventory, pricing, supplier integration, and back-office operations for 140+ stores across 55+ cities, having processed over $500 million in payments. The company raised a $22M Series B in May 2026, bringing total funding to over $32M.