Silver Spring, MD, November 6, 2012—Today marks the launch of Mercaris, a new company to provide critical market information and infrastructure for organic and non-GMO agricultural commodity crops. Mercaris will allow subscribers to access key market data on certified or identity-preserved crops, as well as utilize an on- line trading platform to buy or sell physical commodities. Mercaris is backed by seed funding from a group of investors, led by the Ulupono Initiative of the Omidyar Group and Kapor Capital.

“We’re excited to provide a unique set of information tools to help the sustainable agricultural sector grow”, said Founder and CEO Kellee James. As the organic and non-GMO agricultural sectors have expanded, the need for fundamental market data on supply and demand has become more critical. Mercaris aims to support the increase of market transparency and efficiency across the sector.

Mitch Kapor, Director of Kapor Capital stated, “I’m very excited at the opportunity to support Mercaris, which brings a strategic and creative approach to building organic and non-GMO agriculture. As a social impact investment which leverages information technology, it’s in the sweet spot for us as impact investors.”

“We believe that Mercaris has the potential to transform the interactions between buyers and sellers in the $30 billion organic and non-GMO agricultural markets”, said Kyle Datta, general partner of the Ulupono Initiative, a for-profit impact investment firm solely sponsored by Pierre and Pam Omidyar that focuses on the food, renewable energy and waste reduction sectors, especially in Hawaii.

“Both Ulupono and Kapor represent the type of values-based investment that so critically aligns with the mission of Mercaris,” asserted Ms. James. “It’s a great partnership. The goal of Mercaris is to enable its customers, from producers, to processors to retailers, to make better business decisions based on sound data.


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For more information contact Mercaris at info@mercariscompany.com