MaetaData

What MaetaData does

MaetaData is a private, Chicago-based SaaS company founded in 2012 that provides supply chain transparency and sustainability attribution software for the institutional foodservice industry. The company operates a cloud-based platform that ingests foodservice spend data from over 1,000 distribution sources on a monthly basis, harmonizes multi-format data from disparate systems, and maintains source identification through the entire chain of custody using its patented Source Transparency technology and proprietary MaetaTag® identifier system. The platform's database covers 500k+ products, 50k+ manufacturers, and 1k+ distributors, and applies 50+ algorithms to deliver 85+ sustainability attributes, Scope 3 carbon scoring, ESG/CSR KPIs, and the proprietary 4 Families of Local® framework for defining local sourcing by mileage and/or state.

The product is delivered as a modular suite — including Open Fields, Sustainable Insights, Aggrega8, and MaetaTag® — sold primarily through a consultative enterprise field sales motion with quote-based annual subscription pricing, custom branded web applications, SSO, and multi-user role security. MaetaData serves four primary vertical segments: Higher Education, Healthcare, Business Dining, and K12 Districts, with a separately marketed Vendor/Solution Provider Platform that opens a supplier-side dashboard for certificate management, content distribution, and product-level transparency. The company employs 11-50 people, has been continuously operating for 12+ years, and reports 40-60% average purchasing auto-recognition upon client implementation. The only disclosed external capital is a $5,000 VentureWell grant in 2023.

Name

MaetaData

Legal name

MaetaData

Website

https://maetadata.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MaetaData is a Chicago-based SaaS platform founded in 2012 that uses patented AI to harmonize foodservice supply chain data from 1,000+ distributors, providing transparency, sustainability attribution, and Scope 3 reporting for Higher Ed, Healthcare, Business Dining, and K12 clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foodservice Supply Chain Analytics

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Foodservice Distribution (Education, Healthcare, Government) (CRAOABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Warehouse/Lakehouse Performance Optimization & Cost Management (HDAEABAL), Healthcare Data Lakes, Lakehouses & Cloud Warehouses (HLACAIAA)

Keywords

• Foodservice supply chain
• Supply chain transparency
• Sustainability data analytics
• Foodservice data platform
• Local food sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Platform Subscription: SaaS platform providing supply chain transparency, sustainability attribution, and reporting. Features include custom branded web applications, 85+ sustainability attributes, ESG/CSR KPIs, mileage calculations, and multi-location programs with individual and enterprise views.
2. Vendor/Solution Provider Platform: Centralized dashboard for suppliers with unlimited certificate and document storage, content management system, product-level transparency, and competitive performance intelligence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MaetaData operates an AI-driven SaaS platform that aggregates foodservice spend data from over 1,000 nationwide distribution sources, harmonizes multi-format data, and applies patented source-transparency technology to maintain product origin identification through the chain of custody. The platform delivers sustainability attribution across 85+ attributes, Scope 3 carbon scoring, local sourcing analytics, and ESG/CSR reporting for foodservice operators and their suppliers.

Product overview

MaetaData is a cloud-based platform offering the foodservice industry’s premier database for supply chain transparency. The unified platform combines multiple modules—Open Fields, Sustainable Insights, Aggrega8, and MaetaTag®—alongside the proprietary 4 Families of Local® framework to provide comprehensive supply chain visibility, sustainability attribution, and compliance management. The architecture integrates data aggregation, carbon scoring, reporting and analytics, supplier engagement, and workflow automation into a single cloud-based system serving Higher Ed, Healthcare, Business Dining, and K12 Districts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MaetaTag: Proprietary unique identifier applied to product, supplier, and distributor combinations to automate catalog enhancement, on-demand reporting, and supplier transparency.
• 4 Families of Local
• Aggrega8

Products and services

• MaetaData Enterprise Solutions Enterprise-grade SaaS offering for foodservice operators in Higher Education, Healthcare, Business Dining, and K12 Districts. Includes a custom branded web application, 85+ sustainability attributes, pre-existing reporting templates, ESG/CSR KPIs, mileage calculations from suppliers to each location, multi-location programs with individual and enterprise views, multi-user role-level security, and SSO and system integration. On average recognizes 40-60% of client purchasing via historical attribution work.
• MaetaData Vendor Solutions Centralized dashboard offering for foodservice suppliers, vendors, and distributors providing access to a customer base of 500k+ products, 50k+ manufacturers, and 1k+ distributors. Features include unlimited certificate and document storage with expiration notification, a content management system for nutritional info and recipes, product-level transparency with mileage to each customer for local credit, Scope 3 inbound supplier transparency management with ingredient carbon calculator, and competitive performance intelligence by business vertical and food category.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-60% purchasing auto-recognized on implementation through historical attribution work
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Trustwell (formerly FoodLogiQ): Trustwell is a food supply chain transparency platform offering traceability, recall, and product data management to food brands, distributors, and operators; directly comparable to MaetaData's chain-of-custody and supplier transparency capabilities but with broader recall/traceability scope beyond foodservice.
• HowGood: HowGood is a sustainability intelligence platform that rates food and personal care products on environmental and social impact, widely embedded into retail and foodservice purchasing systems. It overlaps directly with MaetaData's Sustainable Insights module and Scope 3 carbon scoring.
• Plate IQ: Plate IQ automates invoice and spend management for restaurants and foodservice operators, extracting purchasing data from supplier invoices. Comparable on foodservice spend data ingestion and operator-facing analytics, though Plate IQ focuses on AP automation rather than sustainability attribution.
• Sourcery: Sourcery is a procurement platform focused on independent restaurants and small chains, connecting operators with suppliers and providing spend and sourcing analytics; overlaps with MaetaData's foodservice procurement transparency and supplier engagement modules, though focused on a different operator segment.
• iFoodDecisionSciences (iFoodDS): iFoodDS provides supply chain data capture and analytics for fresh food producers, distributors, and retailers, with proprietary data-sharing and traceability infrastructure. Comparable to MaetaData on foodservice supply chain visibility and supplier data aggregation.

Broad incumbents

• Persefoni: Persefoni is an enterprise carbon accounting and management platform covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across industries. Comparable to MaetaData's Scope 3 carbon calculator and ESG/CSR KPI features, but operates across all industries with much broader climate accounting scope.
• Sphera: Sphera is an enterprise ESG, EHS, and supply chain risk management software provider with deep product carbon footprint and supplier transparency modules. Overlaps with MaetaData's sustainability and supply chain compliance capabilities but at much larger enterprise scale and broader category.
• Watershed: Watershed is an enterprise climate platform offering carbon accounting, Scope 3 measurement, and sustainability reporting. It competes with MaetaData's Scope 3 and ESG reporting capabilities at larger enterprise customers across industries, with materially greater capital and engineering resources.

Emerging players

• BlueCart (acquired by Cut+Dry): BlueCart is a B2B e-commerce and order management platform for foodservice suppliers and operators, providing catalog and ordering data. Partial overlap with MaetaData's Aggrega8 multi-source data aggregation and supplier transparency modules in the foodservice distribution workflow.
• Reposite: Reposite is a B2B platform for foodservice operators to discover, evaluate, and purchase from ingredient and technology suppliers, including ESG transparency. Adjacent to MaetaData's supplier transparency and local sourcing identification capabilities, with some overlap on supplier discovery and ESG data.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Maeta_Data
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=61558840150806
• Instagraminstagram.com/maeta_data
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maetadata

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MaetaData