The omnichannel marketing platform Myxx will bring its tasty recipes and branding chops to the CED Tech Conference on Feb. 25-26 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The Cary-based company will present on the mainstage to more than 100 investors and business leaders alike.
Myxx Co-Founder and CEO Monica Wood and her fellow Co-Founder, COO Dede Houston, are both “single moms who are on a mission to get people to eat healthier,” Wood said. Houston and Wood had previously worked together at the Morrisville-based adtech startup MaxPoint (which later sold to Valassis) and had always loved working together, but eventually moved on to new stops.
After MaxPoint, Wood took a position in 2014 with Washington, D.C.-based LivingSocial, for which she ended up traveling four days a week. With all the jet-setting, she became discouraged to hear that her kids were eating unhealthily while she was not with them since she wanted them to love healthy food as much as she did.
“Health is really important to me,” said Wood. “Fifteen years ago I lost 100 lbs. I did that through learning how to cook, eat healthily, knowing what healthy food to put in my body, and shopping at the grocery store versus eating out. I really didn’t want my children to ever face what I faced.”
Houston and Wood then embarked on a mission to launch Myxx in 2015. Myxx’s site suggests recipes and then maps out precisely where the ingredients can be found at the grocery store. The company has partnered with thousands of grocery stores, including every Harris Teeter and Kroger location nationwide.
The retailers “capture 100% of the cart,” according to the company’s website, while Myxx makes its money when store chains and brands pay to feature their products on the site. That enables retailers to highlight sales and new items that fit with the retailer’s strategy.
Consumers, meanwhile, use Myxx for free to find new healthy recipes that are tailored to their specific tastes and needs. Myxx also helps users save time in the grocery store by pointing out where each item on the recipe list can be found in order to cook the meal.
Wood explained that Myxx is in a $750 million industry—the digital transformation of the grocery business—and that there’s plenty of revenue to be made.
Wood said that the CED Tech Conference has been very helpful for enabling Myxx to grow and that the conference is “near and dear” to the Myxx team’s hearts. Myxx has received two rounds of funding since first attending the CED Tech Conference in 2016, and this year the company plans to raise a Series A round.
“I’d be remiss to not talk about how difficult it is as a female entrepreneur with getting funding and the special obstacles in our way,” Wood said. “So we really appreciate CED and its support.”
