Local Orbit

What Local Orbit does

Local Orbit is a SaaS supply-chain platform built specifically for the local food economy, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The platform serves food hubs, aggregators, and producer co-ops by unifying the order-to-cash process — marketing, online ordering, inventory and lot tracking, fulfillment (pick lists, packing slips, labels), route planning, invoicing, supplier payments, and reporting — into a single cloud-based system accessible via web browser on any device. The architecture is purpose-built rather than adapted from generic distribution software, with features like food-safety audit trails, fresh sheets and automated newsletters, and a cross-market "Local Orbit Network" enabling regional partners to sell across one another's markets.

The business runs on a tiered monthly subscription (Start $70, Grow $125, Accelerate $450) differentiated by the number of Markets a customer can manage from one dashboard, plus an optional embedded Stripe payment-processing fee (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). Go-to-market is primarily product-led and community-led: self-serve sign-up, weekly onboarding webinars, an extensive knowledge base, and in-person programs (Hub Camps, workshops, the "Transparency, Collaboration & Shared Value" conference) targeting food-hub operators. A separate LocalEyes add-on extends the platform toward institutional buyers (hospitals, schools, universities).

Local Orbit was founded in 2009 by Erika Block and scaled to 12,000 (mid-2016) and then 20,000+ (Dec 2017) buyers and suppliers across 85+ North American markets, processing millions of daily transactions. In December 2017 the company was handed over to Farm Link Hawaii (a long-time customer), with Rob Barreca assuming the CEO role in January 2018. The codebase was simultaneously released as the open-source Mahina project under MIT license. The company has 11-50 employees and a single disclosed funding round (2012, undisclosed amount, Ann Arbor SPARK and Wakestream Ventures); no venture or growth capital is otherwise disclosed.

Name

Local Orbit

Legal name

Local Orbit

Website

https://localorbit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Local Orbit is a SaaS supply-chain platform for food hubs, aggregators, and producer co-ops, unifying online ordering, inventory, fulfillment, invoicing, and reporting for the local food economy across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Supply Chain Software

NAICS

Caterers (722320)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAMAHAB

Food Delivery & Restaurant Logistics Platforms

Business & Public Services/Web, Mobile & Digital Platforms/On-Demand, Gig & Local Services Platforms

Keywords

• Food supply chain software
• Local food distribution
• Food hub management
• Wholesale food platform
• Farm-to-institution software

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: Monthly subscription fees ranging from $70/month (Start - 1 Market) to $450/month (Accelerate - 5 Markets). All plans include core platform features for marketing, sales, fulfillment and financial management. Optional annual contract for reduced pricing.
2. Integrated Payment Processing: Optional integrated credit card processing through Stripe. Local Orbit charges 2.9% + 30 cents of transaction totals. Fees can be set to be charged to the Market or the Suppliers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Local Orbit is a cloud-based SaaS supply chain platform that enables food hubs, aggregators, co-ops, and local food producers to manage marketing, online ordering, fulfillment, inventory, invoicing, and payments through a unified system. The platform also connects regional food hubs via a cross-selling network, supporting tens of thousands of buyers and suppliers across North America in local food commerce.

Product overview

Local Orbit is a unified SaaS platform for the local food supply chain, combining a core marketplace/product management system with three subscription pricing tiers (Start at $70/month for 1 market, Grow at $125/month for up to 3 markets, and Accelerate at $450/month for up to 5 markets). The platform integrates order management, fulfillment, invoicing, route planning, and financial management tools. Supporting the core platform are complementary offerings: LocalEyes (a supplier management service for institutional buyers), the free Local Food Distribution Toolkit (business planning resources including Business Model Canvas, Customer Journey Map, and Budget Template), and Mahina (an open source project derived from Local Orbit's codebase released under MIT license in 2017).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Local Orbit Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% increase in business for LINC Foods and its producers through Local Orbit-powered local food distribution
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature13 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Farm Link HawaiicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2017Farm Link Hawaii, a long-time Local Orbit customer, acquired Local Orbit in December 2017. Rob Barreca, Founder/Director of Farm Link, is a farmer, fermented foods producer, and food hub director with prior experience as software developer and product manager. The transition was designed to be seamless with no service or pricing changes in 2018.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe provides integrated credit card processing for Local Orbit's platform. Processing fees are 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. Supports Visa, MC, Amex, and Discover. ACH processing also being introduced. Stripe handles all payment processing infrastructure.
• LLamasoftminorOthersLocal Orbit co-located in LLamasoft's office space in Ann Arbor, Michigan starting September 2016. Both companies are supply chain technology companies in the same building, creating a collaborative environment for supply chain technology development in Ann Arbor.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Local Food Marketplace: Local Food Marketplace provides an online platform for food hubs, farms, and food cooperatives to manage wholesale and CSA sales, inventory, and distribution—offering nearly identical functionality to Local Orbit for the same target customer segments.
• FoodLogiQ: FoodLogiQ is a SaaS platform for food supply chain traceability, supplier compliance, and quality management, serving many of the same institutional food buyers and producers as Local Orbit with overlapping functionality in food safety and traceability.
• Cut+Dry (formerly BlueCart): Cut+Dry is a B2B food ordering platform connecting restaurants and food service operators with suppliers, providing order management, invoicing, and catalog tools comparable to Local Orbit's wholesale ordering functionality for foodservice buyers.
• Choco: Choco is a B2B food ordering platform connecting restaurants and wholesalers, offering order management and supplier discovery functionality that overlaps with Local Orbit's buyer/supplier marketplace capabilities in the foodservice vertical.
• MarketMan: MarketMan provides inventory, ordering, and supplier management software for restaurants and food businesses, targeting similar SMB foodservice customers with comparable inventory and vendor management features to Local Orbit's platform.

Emerging players

• AgSquared: AgSquared offers farm planning, management, and recordkeeping software for produce growers, overlapping with Local Orbit on the producer-side tooling but focused more on farm operations than on distribution and aggregation.
• FreshRealm: FreshRealm is a food distribution and meal kit logistics platform that operates in the local/specialty food distribution space, partially overlapping with Local Orbit's food hub aggregator model in serving consumers and institutions seeking differentiated food sourcing.

Broad incumbents

• Square for Restaurants: Square (Block) provides point-of-sale, payments, and business management tools for restaurants and food retailers, including some supplier and inventory features that overlap with Local Orbit's downstream buyer-side functionality, though as a broader SMB commerce platform.
• Shopify: Shopify is a broad e-commerce platform that food hubs, farmers, and local food retailers use for online ordering and storefronts, providing overlapping commerce and order management functionality to Local Orbit, though without deep local-food supply chain specialization.
• Goldbelly: Goldbelly is an online marketplace that connects consumers with specialty and local foods from restaurants and producers across the US, occupying an adjacent market to Local Orbit's local food distribution focus by serving the end-consumer rather than wholesale aggregation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/localorbit
• Facebookfacebook.com/localorbit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/local-orbit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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 Local Orbit