Spoiler Alert

Spoiler Alert builds B2B software for managing excess, slow-moving, short-dated and discontinued consumer packaged goods inventory. Suppliers aggregate inventory data from different internal systems into a single view of saleable stock, curate and distribute offer sheets to selected buyers or sales channels using filters, pricing levers and freight calculators, receive and assess offers through counteroffer and "smart awarding" tools, and generate award forms automatically for fulfillment. Buyers work from offer sheets and spreadsheet-style interfaces to review item details, batch-level quantities and shipping and freight terms, submit offers and counter-offers, and receive order confirmations, along with historical purchasing and performance analytics.

The platform spans setup and configuration of inventory feeds, sales channels and pricing/logistics guardrails; automated matching of inventory to buyers and prices; and ongoing analysis of metrics such as margin, shelf life and holding costs to refine future performance. Product coverage extends beyond food and beverage into categories including dry grocery, frozen and prepared foods, bulk and foodservice, pet food, household essentials, health and personal care, and beauty and cosmetics. The company describes its offering as an AI-powered operating system for surplus, supported by pricing and demand intelligence derived from transaction history and a vetted network of retailers, wholesalers and nonprofits.

Alongside its commercial positioning, Spoiler Alert frames its mission around expanding access to affordable everyday essentials and diverting usable product from landfill, citing food access needs in the United States, Project Drawdown's ranking of reduced food waste as a climate solution, and organic waste as the largest contributor to landfills by volume.

Founding story

Spoiler Alert was founded in 2015 out of MIT Sloan by Ricky Ashenfelter and Emily Malina, who had both worked with CPG supply chains and observed usable product being written off with no clear path to value recovery. Ashenfelter had been an early employee at a sustainability software startup later acquired by Deloitte, where he led supply chain and waste analyses for food, retail and CPG companies; Malina worked on enterprise technology adoption and supply chain transformation at Deloitte. Both hold MBAs from MIT Sloan.

Business model

Spoiler Alert sells software to CPG manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers that operate liquidation and markdown programs, and operates a buyer network of discount retailers, wholesalers and nonprofits that source the resulting inventory. Suppliers are onboarded through a configuration and strategy phase connecting inventory data and establishing sales channels, pricing and logistics rules, then run recurring discounting cycles through the platform.

Traction

At the time of its December 2021 Series A the company reported over 400% growth in gross transaction value over the prior 12 months with zero customer churn, and said it had helped move more than 200 million pounds of product in that period. It was a 15-person startup at that point, with plans to employ as many as 75 people within the following year and a half. The company currently cites more than $6 billion in transaction data, 270+ vetted and approved buyers, 1,000+ brands supported, 80-85+ product categories and 500+ shipping origins, and reports customer outcomes including 65% faster speed to market, 50% growth in discount revenue and 60% increase in sales channels. It was named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies.

Latest developments

The company describes itself as an AI-powered operating system for surplus and reports scale metrics of $6B+ in transaction data, 270+ vetted buyers and 1,000+ brands supported. Recent published materials include a customer story on Lactalis achieving a 33% cost recovery result, a webinar on Rise Baking's liquidation program, a secondary market report, and a press release announcing inclusion in the 2026 Inc. 5000 list. Current leadership includes CEO Ricky Ashenfelter, President Emily Malina, CTO Adam Champagne Goldstein, SVP Sales Matt Greene, SVP Marketing Elizabeth Eberle, VP Customer Operations Ari Hopkinson and VP Product Jeff Love.