Trouva Nabs $10M To Help UK SMBs Compete With Amazon

Trouva, an online marketplace for merchants that don’t sell their products online, has raised $10 million in a new round of venture funding.

According to a news report in Venture Beat, the company raised the $10 million via a Series A round led by BGF Ventures. Other investors include Index Ventures and Octopus Investments. Repeat investors also participated in the latest round of fundraising.

Trouva, which hails out of London, went live in 2015, acting as a marketplace for merchants to showcase and sell their products to internet shoppers. According to the report, Trouva offers products from more than 350 merchants throughout the U.K., as well as one-hour deliveries, global shipping and click and collect. The company provides eCommerce functionality only to offline sellers, which sets it apart from other players like Etsy.

“We have to believe that they are truly amazing independents, run by great curators with a strong identity,” said co-founder Mandeep Singh. “We want Trouva to become the global destination for the best independent shops in the greatest cities in the world. Whether we’re talking about Montmartre in Paris, Shibuya in Tokyo or Shoreditch in London, the greatest independents will be united on our global platform.”

Trouva had previously raised $3.8 million in venture funding. With the new investment, it will develop its software platform. While it is currently operating only in the U.K., the company has aspirations to bring the service to the U.S. and Europe. It also wants to create an office in Lisbon, Portugal, which would triple the company’s technology team.

Helping physical retailers stand out has been a growing space as retailers are challenged to compete with the selling power of Amazon.com. Trouva is among the companies that are providing brick-and-mortar retailers with the tech tools they need to take on larger eCommerce companies.