Mercanto

What Mercanto does

Mercanto AG operates a digital B2B marketplace that connects professional buyers in Switzerland — primarily hotels, restaurants, care homes, bakeries, and confectioneries — with their suppliers for centralized procurement. The platform replaces fragmented, multi-supplier ordering workflows with a single login, unified shopping cart, standardized order lists, and role-based access controls, and it is available in German, French, and Italian to serve all major Swiss language regions. Product surface includes the core marketplace split into Food, Non-Food, and Healthcare catalogs, plus supplementary modules such as a Merchant Portal for suppliers, a Scanner Application, an Inventory Management module with year-end closing support, Purchase Lists for recurring orders, targeted advertising placements, and the Mercanto Academy online training program. Mercanto is incorporated as Mercanto AG in Rothenburg (Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland) and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pistor Holding Genossenschaft (Pistor Group), from which it draws distribution reach, supplier relationships, and operational infrastructure. The business model is freemium for buyers, with revenue generated from supplier platform subscriptions (including a defined Starter Package), transaction commissions on orders facilitated through the marketplace, and advertising placements targeted at the Swiss hospitality and bakery purchasing environment. Distribution is anchored by the Pistor Plus supplier network of approximately 320 suppliers and a partnership stack of more than 15 ERP and hospitality-software integrations (Deepico, Panipro, WEGAS, GASTROpilot, CalcMenu, KI-KITCHEN, Pro Culina, YourBarMate, Optisoft, and others), and 'Trusted Supplier' status with HotellerieSuisse.

Name

Mercanto

Legal name

Mercanto AG

Website

https://mercanto.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mercanto operates Switzerland's largest independent B2B digital marketplace for centralized procurement, connecting 7,000+ professional buyers in hospitality, care homes, and bakeries with suppliers, under Pistor Group ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Procurement Marketplace

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

Keywords

• B2B procurement marketplace
• Digital hospitality procurement
• Bakery confectionery supplies
• Care home procurement
• Supplier buyer platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Rothenburg

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Supplier Platform Fees: Suppliers pay for access to the marketplace. The exact costs depend on the services needed. The starter package includes a personalized shop with supplier profile, product catalog, open catalog (with or without prices), two product campaigns, two publications, and access to the Merchant Portal.
2. Transaction Commission: Mercanto acts as a marketplace connecting buyers and suppliers. While delivery and billing continue directly between supplier and customer, Mercanto earns commission on transactions facilitated through the platform.
3. Advertising Solutions: Mercanto offers targeted advertising solutions where suppliers can position products directly in the purchasing environment of Swiss hospitality and bakery businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mercanto operates a digital B2B marketplace that connects suppliers with professional buyers across Switzerland's hospitality, care home, and bakery/confectionery sectors. The platform provides a single login, unified shopping cart, and standardized ordering process that consolidates procurement from multiple suppliers. Suppliers pay platform fees and commissions to access the buyer network, while buyers use the marketplace free of charge.

Product overview

Mercanto operates as a B2B digital marketplace platform for the Swiss professional market, connecting suppliers with buyers across three core sectors: hospitality and gastronomy, care homes, and bakeries and confectioneries. The platform is structured as a unified marketplace with distinct product categories (Food, Non-Food, Healthcare) and offers complementary modules including Mercanto Academy for training, a Support Portal, Merchant Portal, Scanner Application, Inventory Management, Purchase Lists, and Advertising Solutions. The platform centralizes procurement through a single login, connecting multiple suppliers with professional buyers while maintaining existing business relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mercanto Academy: Free online training platform offering courses on platform usage, inventory management, user administration, and purchasing processes.

Products and services

• Mercanto Marketplace The main B2B digital marketplace platform connecting suppliers with professional buyers in the Swiss hospitality, care homes, and bakery/confectionery sectors. Enables centralized ordering, supplier management, and digital procurement with a single login, unified shopping cart, and standardized ordering process.
• Mercanto Academy Free online training platform offering professional courses covering platform basics, user management, inventory management, purchase lists, scanner usage, supplier/article creation, and accounting plans. Provides webinars and personalized training for platform users.
• Mercanto Advertising Solutions Advertising solutions enabling suppliers to increase reach through targeted placement of articles directly in the purchasing environment of Swiss hospitality and bakery businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Single login replaces multiple supplier portals and logins
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Pistor Plus (Pistor Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPistor Plus partnership focused on efficiency and value creation for shared customers. Access to approximately 320 selected suppliers through the Pistor network. Pistor Group is the parent company of Mercanto AG, providing shared infrastructure, distribution reach, and supplier relationships.
• HotellerieSuisseflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerAs a 'Trusted Supplier' of HotellerieSuisse, Mercanto is part of a certified partner network serving the Swiss hospitality sector. Together providing hotels and restaurants with efficient digital procurement solutions and simplified access to a vast supplier network.
• Regio GarantieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegionality and quality label partnership. Products with this label come from regional suppliers and are manufactured according to clearly defined criteria. Focus on supporting local producers and strengthening regional economy.
• SwissdrinkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrong partner in beverage supply. Company distinguished by quality, reliability, wide selection of brands and products, and national network of beverage distributors. Enables activation of regional suppliers on Mercanto with maximum efficiency.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Toast Inc. Restaurant technology platform providing POS, payments, and increasingly supply chain/procurement tools for hospitality operators. Adjacent peer to Mercanto, sharing restaurant buyer relationships and complementary procurement functionality.
• Lightspeed Commerce: Restaurant and hospitality commerce platform offering POS, payments, and back-office tools. Adjacent to Mercanto as a hospitality-focused technology vendor; both serve overlapping restaurant and care-home buyers in Switzerland/EU.

Direct peers

• Choco: Berlin-based digital B2B ordering platform connecting restaurants and food retailers with suppliers, with a similar 'one login, one cart' value proposition. Closely matches Mercanto's product-led B2B marketplace model for the hospitality vertical.

Emerging players

• Udaan: India-headquartered B2B commerce platform connecting retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers across categories including food/FMCG. Comparable as a B2B marketplace model to Mercanto, though geographically focused on India.
• Cut+Dry: B2B platform streamlining restaurant supply ordering and distributor ordering workflows. Comparable to Mercanto as a digital procurement layer between hospitality buyers and food service suppliers, focused on operational efficiency.
• Faire: Wholesale B2B marketplace connecting independent retailers with brands and suppliers. Comparable to Mercanto in marketplace-driven B2B procurement, although Faire targets retail rather than food service.

Broad incumbents

• US Foods: Major U.S. B2B foodservice distributor serving restaurants, healthcare, and hospitality with digital ordering tools. Comparable to Mercanto as a wholesale distribution platform with growing digital procurement capabilities for HoReCa and care segments.
• METRO AG: Global B2B food service and wholesale giant operating the METRO/MAKRO cash-and-carry format as well as digital B2B ordering for HoReCa customers. Directly comparable as a B2B procurement platform serving hospitality and food service, though at far greater scale and with a physical-anchored model.
• Sysco Corporation: Largest U.S. B2B foodservice distributor, serving restaurants, healthcare, and hospitality with broad product catalogs and digital ordering. Comparable to Mercanto as a B2B procurement partner for HoReCa and care home buyers, though geographically U.S.-focused and much larger.
• Alibaba 1688.com: Alibaba's domestic B2B wholesale marketplace connecting Chinese suppliers with professional buyers. Comparable to Mercanto as a large-scale B2B marketplace platform, although broader in product scope and very different in geography and scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mercanto-b2b

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Mercanto