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Boulder-based lifestyle technology company Makeena is gearing up to launch its natural products shopping app later this month. Makeena graduated in July from a 5-month residency at the Telluride Venture Accelerator, one of only six startups selected for the program.
The Telluride residency equipped Makeena with $30,000 in funding, and the company secured a $76 thousand loan from the Colorado Enterprise fund. Future funding will come primarily from angel investors.
Makeena’s app uses mobile technology to reach shoppers before, during, and after their experience by providing information on natural products and homeopathic remedies. Makeena is unique because it gives brands a platform to offer cash-back incentives directly to consumers who purchase their products, and encourages shoppers to request discounts on their favorite items.
“Makeena is about helping people live better by making healthy and sustainable products more affordable,” said Makeena founder and CEO, Karen Frame. “Makeena is a win-win: brands and retailers get a powerful tool to connect directly with shoppers and people get to bring home the healthy and sustainable products they care about.”
Frame hopes that Makeena will reduce confusion and promote awareness about the natural products environment by allowing consumers to search by gluten-free, locally sourced, non-GMO, organic, vegan, and other attributes. Makeena also provides avenues for social sharing and a forum for brands to introduce new products.
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Makeena is versatile: shoppers simply take a snap of their receipt from any retailer that sells participating brands. Once Makeena confirms that a product is eligible for a discount, a third party payment system puts the savings directly into the shopper’s bank account. Makeena is already partnered with 40 brands, and anticipates at least 60 by the app’s launch. Using its streamlined discount service, Makeena estimates that consumers will save between 10 and 100 percent on eligible products.
Makeena’s 10 employees work out of Galvanize Boulder and Galvanize San Francisco, two startup campuses that work to build community across early stage tech companies.
Participating brands include: Allera Health, Alter Eco, Among Friends, Barleans, Beanitos, Bhakti Chai, Boulder Cookie, Goddess Garden, Hip Chick Farms, Keen One Quinoa, MD Lash Factor, Namaste, Natu Hair, Nuwi, Outrageous Baking, Quinn Popcorn, Righteously Raw, Roots Food, Saffron Road, Salazon Chocolate, Somersaults, Sun Cups, Sustain Condom, Teatulia, This Bar Saves Lives, True Brush, Tummy Zen, ZaZaRaw, Zevia, Zing Bars.
More information on Makeena can be found on their kickstarter, which will run for another week.
