Candid Wholesale
Candid Wholesale is a Portland-based B2B SaaS platform that helps SMB and mid-market brands, retailers, distributors, and showrooms run wholesale operations online via integrated storefronts, order management, invoicing, payments, and EDI for large retailers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Candid Wholesale does
Candid Wholesale is a Portland, Oregon-based B2B SaaS platform that provides brands, retailers, distributors, sales reps, and showrooms with an end-to-end wholesale commerce and order management system. Its core offering combines a virtual storefront (Candid Embedded or hosted), a collaborative order form with built-in messaging and approval workflows, integrated invoicing and payment processing via Candid Pay (powered by Stripe for non-US and Finix for US), multichannel inventory sync across wholesale and DTC channels, and analytics including Selling Signals. The platform is built for SMB and mid-market customers and is positioned as a direct-relationship alternative to wholesale marketplaces that charge 10-25% commissions, with explicit EDI support for selling into enterprise retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
Candid operates a horizontal SaaS revenue model combining tiered monthly subscriptions (Starter/Starter+, Pro, Complete) for sellers with a free tier for buyers, augmented by transaction fees on integrated payments (Candid Pay) and an 0.8% fee on externally processed payments. Go-to-market is product-led and self-serve with optional sales-assisted discovery calls, supported by content marketing, SEO, and integration partnerships (Squarespace, Shopify, QuickBooks Online, ShipStation, Zapier, Extensiv). The Wholesale Accelerator service extends into higher-touch market intelligence and buyer matching for growth-stage brands.
The company is venture-backed following a $2.0M seed round in June 2021 led by Amplify.LA (preceded by an approximately $792K round in 2019) and reports a 1-10 employee headcount. It serves thousands of brands and retailers across verticals including apparel, home goods, CPG, food service, beauty and wellness, and athletic and outdoor, with multi-currency support spanning North America, Europe, and Oceania.
Candid Wholesale firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Candid Wholesale
- Legal name
- Candid Wholesale
- Website
- https://candidwholesale.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Candid Wholesale is a Portland-based B2B SaaS platform that helps SMB and mid-market brands, retailers, distributors, and showrooms run wholesale operations online via integrated storefronts, order management, invoicing, payments, and EDI for large retailers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Candid Wholesale industry classification
Industry- Product category
- B2B Wholesale Ecommerce Software
- NAICS
- Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers (424450), Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers (42445)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wholesale/B2B Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAF)
Keywords
Where Candid Wholesale is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Candid Wholesale business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription (Platform Fees): Candid operates on a tiered subscription model with multiple plans (Starter/Starter+, Pro, Complete). Plans include varying feature sets such as buyer limits, product limits, integrations (QuickBooks, multi-currency), and support levels. No long-term contracts are required. A free tier is available for buyers, and sellers can start with a free trial.
- Payment Processing (Candid Pay): Integrated payment processing via Candid Pay, powered by Stripe and Finix. Transaction fees are 2.9% for credit cards and 0-2% for other methods. Sellers on paid plans can use Candid Pay; externally processed payments incur up to 0.8% fee per transaction. Multi-currency support available on Complete plan or as Pro add-on.
- Externally Processed Payment Fee: When sellers collect payments outside of Candid Pay (e.g., external credit card, ACH, PayPal, QuickBooks, Bill.com), a 0.8% external payment processing fee is assessed. This is designed to encourage use of the integrated Candid Pay system.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Tier for Buyers |
| Subscription | Monthly | Starter / Starter+ Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Complete Plan |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Candid Pay Transaction Fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Candid Wholesale product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Candid Wholesale is a B2B SaaS ecommerce and order management platform that enables brands, retailers, and distributors to move wholesale online. The platform unifies virtual storefronts, collaborative order forms with built-in messaging, invoicing, integrated payment processing (Candid Pay via Stripe and Finix), real-time multichannel inventory management, and B2B sales reporting in a single product, with EDI integrations for selling to large retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
Product overview
Candid Wholesale is a B2B ecommerce platform and wholesale management suite designed for brands, retailers, distributors, reps, and showrooms. The core offering consists of the B2B Ecommerce Platform with integrated Order Management System, supplemented by add-on modules including Candid Embedded (virtual storefront), Virtual Showrooms, and Candid Pay (integrated payments). Additional capabilities include International B2B Sales with multi-currency support, Wholesale Inventory Management, Wholesale Accelerator (market expansion services), Selling Signals analytics, and B2B EDI Integration. The platform serves multiple verticals including apparel, home goods, CPG, food service, beauty, and athletic/outdoor industries. Candid positions itself as an accessible alternative to enterprise wholesale platforms, targeting small to medium-sized businesses with transparent, flexible pricing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Candid B2B Ecommerce Platform Core SaaS wholesale ecommerce platform that enables brands and retailers to manage their wholesale business online, featuring collaborative order forms with built-in messaging, approval workflows, gated catalog access, and integrated reporting.
- Candid Embedded Virtual wholesale storefront that can be embedded into an existing brand website or hosted by Candid, providing gated catalog access, buyer verification, and customizable storefront pages.
- Virtual Showrooms Digital showroom functionality enabling brands to showcase seasonal collections, share brand imagery and videos, and collaborate with buyers through interactive line sheets in a B2B context.
- Candid Pay Integrated wholesale payment processing solution powered by Stripe and Finix that enables buyers to pay invoices via credit card or ACH directly within Candid, with digital shipment tracking and automated past-due invoice reminders.
- Wholesale Accelerator Market expansion service that uses Candid's market intelligence and audience data to help brands find qualified retail buyers by territory, send targeted outreach, and scale internationally.
- B2B EDI Integration Electronic Data Interchange solution providing quick and cost-effective EDI integration for selling to large retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon, with dedicated solutions engineers managing setup and testing.
Quantifiable outcome
- 42% increase in average order size for Pigeon Toe Ceramics after using Candid
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Candid Wholesale
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Candid Wholesale technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature14 records
Candid Wholesale partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SquarespacecoreCandid is an official Squarespace extension partner, enabling direct integration for Squarespace users with product and catalog sync in seconds. Listed on the Squarespace extensions marketplace, this partnership allows Squarespace users to connect their ecommerce stores with Candid's wholesale management platform.
- GeekWire (Press Coverage)minorGeekWire published coverage of Candid's $2M seed funding round in June 2021, providing press exposure and credibility within the Pacific Northwest tech and business community.
- QuickBooks OnlinecoreCandid offers a robust first-party direct integration with QuickBooks Online, allowing automatic bookkeeping sync and eliminating double data entry. This exclusive feature is included in the Pro plan and above. Does not currently work with Candid Pay if invoices are sent from QuickBooks.
- ShipStationcoreCandid integrates with ShipStation, enabling 'Ready to ship' and 'Send shipment' buttons to automatically send approved orders to ShipStation. ShipStation then sends confirmed ship dates and tracking info back to Candid. Also provides access to ShipStation's network of 3PL, ERP, and accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Brightpearl).
- ZapiercoreCandid is an official Zapier integration partner, enabling no-code workflows with 5,000+ apps. Allows automation of tasks like creating Google Sheets rows with order data, sending Slack notifications on order approval, or creating invoices in Xero. Free for simple one-step integrations.
- StripecoreCandid Pay is powered by Stripe for non-US based accounts. Stripe provides PCI-compliant payment processing, secure transaction handling, and competitive rates for international credit card processing.
- FinixcoreCandid Pay is powered by Finix for US-based accounts, providing ACH and credit card processing. Finix defaults to 5-day ACH settlement delay and supports multiple connected bank accounts (e.g., USD and CAD). Candid recommends US-based sellers switch to Finix.
- ShopifycoreCandid integrates with Shopify for ecommerce synchronization, allowing brands to manage both wholesale and DTC operations from connected systems. Candid positions itself as a superior alternative to Shopify's native B2B capabilities, noting that many brands regret using Shopify B2B for wholesale.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Candid Wholesale competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- RangeMe: RangeMe is a product discovery and B2B platform used by brands and retail buyers to discover, evaluate, and onboard new products. It overlaps with Candid's Wholesale Accelerator buyer-matching functionality.
- JOOR: JOOR is a leading B2B wholesale platform connecting brands and retailers globally. Candid explicitly positions against JOOR in its content marketing, noting JOOR's enterprise pricing and contracts as a key gap Candid fills for SMBs.
- Faire: Faire is a wholesale marketplace connecting independent brands with retailers. Although marketplace-modeled rather than SaaS, it competes for the same SMB brand and boutique retailer customers Candid serves and is often benchmarked against Candid.
- Ankorstore: Ankorstore is a European B2B wholesale marketplace connecting brands with independent retailers. It serves a similar SMB wholesale customer base and competes in the same category of digitizing brand-to-retailer ordering.
- NuOrder (TradeBeyond): NuOrder is a B2B wholesale ecommerce and order management platform serving brands and retailers, now part of TradeBeyond. It directly overlaps Candid's core order management and virtual showroom capabilities for fashion and lifestyle brands.
Broad incumbents
- Shopify (B2B / Handshake): Shopify is the dominant SMB ecommerce platform with growing native B2B and Handshake wholesale marketplace capabilities. Candid explicitly competes against Shopify B2B and integrates with Shopify, making it a critical incumbent competitor for Candid's SMB wedge.
- BigCommerce (B2B Edition): BigCommerce is a broader ecommerce platform offering B2B Edition functionality. It targets mid-market and enterprise merchants with native B2B features, overlapping Candid's order management and EDI capabilities within a wider commerce platform.
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2B: Salesforce B2B Commerce is an enterprise B2B ecommerce solution within the Salesforce ecosystem. It competes for larger wholesale brands that Candid targets via its Wholesale Accelerator and EDI programs, though it sits at the enterprise end of the market.
Emerging players
- Brandful: Brandful is an emerging B2B platform helping brands manage wholesale operations and grow retailer relationships. It overlaps with Candid's SMB-focused value proposition and represents a comparable early-stage competitor.
- ShopHive (formerly ShopHive): ShopHive is an emerging B2B wholesale platform for brands and retailers. It offers order management and catalog functionality aimed at smaller brands and represents a peer in Candid's emerging SMB wholesale software segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Candid Wholesale social profiles
Digital presenceCandid Wholesale financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Candid Wholesale leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Candid Wholesale funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Candid Wholesale M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Candid Wholesale
What does Candid Wholesale do?
Candid Wholesale is a B2B SaaS ecommerce and order management platform that enables brands, retailers, and distributors to move wholesale online. The platform unifies virtual storefronts, collaborative order forms with built-in messaging, invoicing, integrated payment processing (Candid Pay via Stripe and Finix), real-time multichannel inventory management, and B2B sales reporting in a single product, with EDI integrations for selling to large retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
Is Candid Wholesale a public or private company?
Candid Wholesale is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Candid Wholesale founded?
Candid Wholesale was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Candid Wholesale based?
Candid Wholesale is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Candid Wholesale make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription (Platform Fees) is the primary driver. The others are payment Processing (Candid Pay) and externally Processed Payment Fee.
Who are Candid Wholesale's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are RangeMe, JOOR, Faire, Ankorstore and NuOrder (TradeBeyond). Broad incumbents are Shopify (B2B / Handshake), BigCommerce (B2B Edition) and Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2B. Emerging players are Brandful and ShopHive (formerly ShopHive).
Does Candid Wholesale have an API?
Yes. Candid offers a native Zapier integration that allows connection to over 5,000 third-party apps. The integration supports sending order data including shipment details (ID, order number, date, status, last modified, source, order total, customer notes, shipping amount, fee, deposit amount, order discount amount, additional discount), customer data (bill to, name, company, email, ship to address details), order line items (SKU, weight, weight units, quantity, unit price), and events (catalog access granted, catalog access requested, order approved, order cancelled, order invoiced, order paid, order ready to ship). Users can copy API credentials from their Integrations page (app.candidwholesale.com/integrate) to connect via Zapier.
What industry is Candid Wholesale in?
Candid Wholesale's product category is B2B Wholesale Ecommerce Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAAAF, Wholesale/B2B Generalist Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 424450 and its SIC code is 5140.