Why We Invested: Loads
The Growing Demand for Food
Global population dynamics are shifting rapidly. While developed economies grapple with declining birth rates, regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America are seeing steady growth. As a result, food demand has reached unprecedented levels, but the global supply chain has barely evolved to keep pace.
Latin America, a key agricultural exporter, plays an essential role in feeding the world. In 2023 alone, the region exported over $44 billion in fruits and vegetables, capturing a 19% share of the global market. With the population expected to surge, production must grow by 80% by 2050 to meet rising demands. However, a fragmented global food procurement industry and reliance on outdated methods have hindered progress. Both buyers and suppliers in this industry face complex challenges that create inefficiencies at every step of the supply chain.
Introducing Loads: Revolutionizing Global Food Procurement
Loads is addressing these challenges head-on by creating a B2B marketplace for the global food procurement industry. This platform serves as a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers, providing standardized pricing, documentation management, logistics and shipment tracking, financing solutions, and more. Loads focuses on simplifying transactions between suppliers and distributors, bypassing the complexities of last-mile logistics.
By focusing on produce exports, which represent a high-recurrence product category, Loads is tapping into an established industry with thousands of daily transactions. The platform improves the way buyers and sellers interact within this existing infrastructure, making the process more efficient, transparent, and seamless. Through Loads, both small and large suppliers gain access to a broader network of international buyers, while buyers benefit from access to a wide range of products with real-time tracking and order transparency.
The Powerhouse Team Behind Loads
The leadership team at Loads brings together a wealth of experience and proven success in building companies and navigating complex markets.
Larry Gil, Co-Founder and CEO, with deep roots in the import/export industry, brings extensive experience in scaling businesses and leading partnerships at Betterfly, positioning Loads for strong growth. Carlo Diban, CTO and former Head of Development at Betterfly, built Loads' entire tech infrastructure and leverages his technical expertise from working at Consorcio. Fernando Balart, CCO and former Agriculture Commissioner for Chile, adds invaluable industry knowledge and global connections that will propel Loads' international expansion.
Strategic Collaboration with FEMSA: A Bold Step Forward
Investing in Loads allow us to explore new avenues in the digitalization and institutionalization of supply chains. Through this collaboration, FEMSA can gain valuable insights into B2B marketplaces and enhance its understanding of supply chain efficiencies at the top of the chain.
At FEMSA Ventures, we are excited to join forces with Loads to redefine the future of food procurement on a global scale.