Mercaso
Los Angeles, US · 2 known investors
Find your way into Mercaso
Mercaso is an online wholesale delivery service supplying convenience items, groceries, and household goods from major brands to small business owners. It delivers ordered products directly to customers' doors.
Also known as Mercaso, Inc.
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Mercaso, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based online wholesale platform for consumer goods. Its marketplace lets independent retailers order convenience items, groceries, household goods and other branded products at wholesale prices and have them delivered directly to their store or door. The company operates a micro-fulfillment center and its own delivery fleet in the Los Angeles area, and lists more than 10,000 SKUs available to retailers.
Ordering runs through a web storefront (shop.mercaso.com) and an iOS app, which supports barcode scanning, order and delivery notifications with proof-of-delivery photos, chat, ACH bank account payments, granted credits and a virtual wallet. Additional features added over time include an "M Rewards" loyalty and cashback program, a paid membership tier, upsell and item-recommendation modules, business-solutions pages, support for multiple seller types on the marketplace, and a pricing calculator that converts an entered cost and target margin into a retail price saved per store. The company has also said it is developing a broader operating system for small and medium-sized businesses spanning point-of-sale integration, inventory management, pricing tools and credit services, plus a proprietary data platform.
Customer-facing materials are presented in English, Spanish and Korean, and the company offers phone and text ordering support alongside its digital channels.
Founding story
Jonathan Um co-founded Mercaso with Tab Ratan in 2021; both cited their upbringings around immigrant-run family businesses as the inspiration for building a wholesale supply service for independent retailers.
Business model
Mercaso buys and resells branded consumer packaged goods to small businesses through its own marketplace, fulfilling orders from a micro-fulfillment center with an in-house delivery fleet rather than relying on third-party distributors.
Revenue comes from product sales at wholesale prices plus transaction-level charges: a $4.99 service fee in the Los Angeles and San Diego service areas and a payment processing fee introduced in the app, alongside a paid membership tier and related cashback/rewards mechanics.
Traction
The iOS app holds a 4.8 average rating across 821 ratings and has shipped frequent releases, reaching version 1.60.0. Customer reviews on the company's site describe multi-year and multi-month recurring delivery relationships with small business operators. Mercaso's marketplace lists more than 10,000 SKUs for retailers in the Los Angeles area.
Latest developments
Recent app releases added an M Rewards redesign, support for multiple ACH bank accounts, a barcode scanner in the main navigation, smarter item search, Google and Apple sign-in, a membership tier with checkout upsell, expanded cashback and credit logic, business-solutions pages, and a per-store pricing calculator; a service fee and payment processing fee were introduced earlier in the same release cycle.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as an online wholesale supplier to independent neighborhood retailers, an audience an investor backing the company characterized as underserved by existing product and technology distribution channels; Business Insider included Mercaso in a 2022 list of retail-tech startups selected by venture investors to watch in 2023.
Combines a wholesale marketplace with owned micro-fulfillment and delivery capacity, a catalog of more than 10,000 SKUs of recognized brands, multilingual service for immigrant-run small businesses, and merchant-oriented software features such as a margin-based pricing calculator, cashback rewards and store-level credit.
Technology
A consumer-goods e-commerce marketplace delivered through a web storefront and an iOS app (iOS 15.6 or later) with barcode scanning, staged delivery notifications, proof-of-delivery imaging, in-app chat, ACH and multi-payment support, a virtual wallet with credits, and support for multiple marketplace seller types; the company has described plans for a proprietary data platform and an SMB operating system with POS integration, inventory management, pricing and credit services.
Go-to-market
Direct self-service ordering via the Mercaso website and iOS app, supported by phone and text ordering, multilingual (English/Spanish/Korean) merchandising, sales representatives serving accounts, and in-app membership, rewards and upsell programs to increase order frequency and basket size.
Independent grocers, convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores and other small business owners such as laundromat operators; the app also positions the service for office kitchen stocking and bulk household buying.
Geography
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with delivery service covering the Los Angeles and San Diego markets and a micro-fulfillment center and delivery fleet in the Los Angeles area.
History
Founded in 2021, Mercaso built a marketplace, micro-fulfillment center and delivery fleet serving independent retailers in the Los Angeles area, and by late 2022 was named by investors in a Business Insider list of retail-tech startups to watch. It launched an iOS app under Mercaso, Inc. and has since expanded service to include San Diego and added membership, rewards, credit and merchant pricing tools to the product.
Risks & controversies
Some app reviewers have objected to the added service fee, arguing that the roughly $5 charge erodes the margin advantage of buying through the platform.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsApp release added a pricing calculator allowing merchants to enter cost and target margin to generate a price, saved per store, along with per-stage delivery notification sounds.
App version 1.54.1 introduced a membership feature, updated virtual wallet elements and added a credit balance on the homepage.
Mercaso, Inc. released an iOS ordering app in the Food & Drink category for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, requiring iOS 15.6 or later.
Business Insider included Mercaso in a list of 14 retail-tech startups selected by venture investors to watch in 2023. Mercaso was picked by Gold House Ventures general partner and co-founder Eric Feng, an investor in the company.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Mercasomercaso.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Mercaso do?
- Mercaso is an online wholesale marketplace and delivery service supplying consumer goods to small retailers in Southern California.
- Who are Mercaso's investors?
- Mercaso's investors include JAZZ Venture Partners, Gold House Ventures.
- Where is Mercaso headquartered?
- Mercaso is headquartered in Los Angeles, US.