Chicago, IL — Datassential, the leading provider of data, intelligence and market research to the foodservice industry, announced today that it received a significant growth investment from Spectrum Equity, a leading growth equity firm investing in the information economy. The investment represents the first institutional capital into Datassential and positions the company to continue its rapid growth while supporting the expansion of its client services team, staff of analysts and experts, sales and marketing capabilities and new product innovation.

With a mission to help the food industry make Simply Smarter Decisions, Datassential is the most trusted source of food trend data, consumer and operator insights, and brand data that enables food manufacturers, food retailers, chain restaurants and consumer packaged goods companies to innovate and sell more effectively. With Datassential, clients can track food trends and consumer preferences at the ingredient level with incredible accuracy, ideate new products in real-time, identify top-selling opportunities and answer custom questions based on context-rich industry insights.

“Datassential is a company that’s all about new ideas, and this allows us to pursue more of them than ever before,” said Jack Li, who leads the Datassential team. “Our partnership with Spectrum Equity is great – we’ve got several jaw-dropping innovations that this allows us to pursue with an amazing stack of resources.”

“The Datassential team has built an innovative product suite that its customers love. The company is positioned to capitalize on the vast opportunity ahead by expanding its industry-leading service approach to new areas in food, as well as around the world,” said Jeff Haywood, Managing Director of Spectrum Equity.

“Our partnership with Datassential fits seamlessly with Spectrum’s long history of working with leading industry-focused, online information services companies. We look forward to supporting the company as it pursues its exciting vision for the future,” said Mike Farrell, Managing Director of Spectrum Equity.

As part of this transaction, Jeff Haywood, Mike Farrell and Michael Radonich will join Datassential’s board of directors.

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel for Spectrum Equity.
Datassential’s financial advisor was Intrepid Investment Bankers and Sklar Kirsh LLP served as the company’s legal advisor.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Datassential

Datassential makes the global food industry smarter. Its trend software, consumer insights, and cutting-edge AI is used by hundreds of food manufacturers, chain restaurants, and major food retailers to innovate and sell more effectively. Experience the awesomeness for yourself at www.datassential.com.