
After raising $72 million in a Series B equity round in September, Springdale-based software firm Crisp has big plans, with a primary goal of creating a zero-waste supply chain.
Crisp founder and CEO Are Traasdahl established the company after taking a trip with his family and seeing the effects of food waste firsthand.
“We saw some countries where kids the same age as my kids desperately needed food, and then in other countries we saw the opposite,” Traasdahl said. “A third of all the food that’s made in the world never reaches a consumer at all. It’s lost before any consumer gets it, and then another third is lost when the consumer buys the product.”
So Traasdahl came up with the idea for Crisp, a technology platform that standardizes data from retailers and distributors and creates a centralized system for consumer packaged goods companies.
The company currently connects more than 40 retailers and distributors through its data platform, addressing food waste through data analytics. The platform delivers real-time data on inventory levels, expiration dates and sales metrics, which Traasdahl said has helped Crisp’s customers reduce waste by up to 15%.
As far as the platform goes, “it’s kind of like a North Star,” Traasdahl said. Rather than multiple people having data across multiple spreadsheets, Crisp allows everyone involved to have access to the same streamlined data, which creates a more efficient process.
And though Traasdahl founded the company in New York City, he relocated Crisp’s headquarters to Springdale after visiting northwest Arkansas. Traasdahl said the company’s Springdale location allows it to work more closely with Walmart’s data, and therefore supplier data.
“Walmart is the most advanced retailer in the world, and also has the best data-sharing programs of any retailer,” Traasdahl said. “So that allows us to help the supplier community get access to the data, use the data, leverage the data so they can build a bigger business for themselves, and bigger business for Walmart.”
The company has more than 40 employees at its Springdale headquarters, with plans to double that workforce in the upcoming years. Traasdahl said the company is looking to not only expand its employee count, but also its physical and community presence in northwest Arkansas. In total, Crisp employs around 160 people.
Although food waste inspired Traasdahl to start the company, the technology has other uses that benefit the supply chain. It can also be used for product placements inside of stores, promotions, category management and e-commerce, among other applications.
“The big inspiration was around food waste, but we see that the technology can be used across many, many different use cases,” Traasdahl said.
With the Series B funding, Traasdahl wants to take Crisp international and develop the company’s products and technology, as well as add more artificial intelligence capabilities. He also said Crisp is planning on more acquisitions going forward. The company acquired Atlas Technology Group of Rogers in October 2023, and two companies out of Minneapolis in May.
The platform already serves 6,000 customers globally, including major brands like Mars, SC Johnson and Georgia-Pacific, and Traasdahl said customers are asking for more capabilities, which Crisp plans to provide with the help of the venture capital.