Daily Grommet Raises $3.4 Million in Series A Financing to Fuel Its Curated Online Marketplace and Video Review Site

LEXINGTON, Mass., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Daily Grommet (www.DailyGrommet.com), the curated online marketplace and video review site, today announced the initial close of its Series A financing at $3.4 million. Investors participating in the round include Jean Hammond (investor and member of Hub Angels and Launchpad Venture Group), John Landry (angel investor at Lead Dog Ventures), Nancy Peretsman, and Jill Preotle (co-founder of the Boston Golden Seeds forum and private equity investor). The round also includes existing investors Launch Capital and Gerry Laybourne, founder of Nickelodeon and Oxygen Media.

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Daily Grommet has a growing and passionate fan base of consumers who care about buying thoughtfully and supporting progressive businesses that amplify "good" in the world. Daily Grommet will use the financing to escalate growth through additions to support customer acquisition, enhancing the customer experience, scaling operations and building out the team.

"Product purchase behavior is evolving; as consumers we control 70 percent of the American economy.  People have an increased desire to know the origins and stories behind the products they buy," said Jules Pieri, CEO and founder of DailyGrommet.com. "Daily Grommet is at the root of this cultural shift, and we are excited to have our new investors on board as we continue to expand our platform to meet rising consumer interest."

Daily Grommet features products of great utility, style or invention that haven't hit the big-time yet. The company receives submissions from consumers worldwide and assesses each product submitted. Daily Grommet spotlights chosen products by producing an online video review explaining what's compelling about each day's product and the story behind its creation. Founded in 2008, DailyGrommet.com has nearly 400 products and video reviews in its online catalog.

Daily Grommet gives large and small businesses a powerful social-media based distribution channel for launching products with a sales platform that many new products and young businesses don't have access to. Many products featured by Daily Grommet have gone on to attract large new wholesale accounts, investors, and well-informed customers.

"Daily Grommet is attacking an enormous market opportunity in a David vs. Goliath way," said Landry. "This is already a totally disruptive story -- using social technologies to blow up the old models of product discovery and distribution."

"By innovating at the core of our economy -- consumer products -- Daily Grommet has effectively re-invented sliced bread," said Laybourne. "This idea and its execution are so powerful and simple, it's hard to believe no one's done it yet."

DailyGrommet.com is the birthplace of Citizen Commerce, where regular people form the commerce experience by suggesting, supporting and buying products that are meaningful to them: they may be technical innovations, preserve craft, support a special interest or cause, or be ecologically responsible. Citizen Commerce turns the typical top-down retailer approach sideways; it puts consumers directly in contact with suppliers; encourages global product innovation from a wide range of producers; and satisfies consumer demand for knowing product stories and origins.

Follow Daily Grommet on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dailygrommet and on the Daily Grommet blog at http://blog.dailygrommet.com/ for regular news and updates.

About Daily Grommet

Daily Grommet is a curated online marketplace and video review site where consumers can learn about, share, and buy one inventive new product every day. Daily Grommet features products of great utility, style or invention that haven't hit the big-time yet, providing product creators with a powerful distribution channel for launching products and obtaining consumer feedback. With its focus on product origins, Daily Grommet tells the story behind one unique product every day and provides direct access to product creators on the site. Daily Grommet is the birthplace of Citizen Commerce, where regular people form the commerce experience by suggesting, supporting and buying products that are meaningful to them. Daily Grommet carefully tests and selects all of the unique and creative products featured on the site, and is 100% advertorial free. Visit www.DailyGrommet.com to learn more.

SOURCE Daily Grommet