Consumer & D2C startups in Toronto

Cole Pearsall, Allan Mai, Scott Friedmann & Rae Drake

Founded 2019; D2C/CPG food-science brand making living vinegars, vinaigrettes, hot sauces and non-alcoholic 'Proxies' wine (since spun out). Raised a $4.75M Series A and later $6M (InvestEco, BrandProject, S...

Andrew Black

Founded 2013; Toronto 'studio + fund' hybrid that co-builds digital consumer brands, acting as de-facto co-founders. Portfolio/build list includes Ritual, Chefs Plate, Acid League, Our Place, Daily Harvest, ...

Brandon Truaxe & Nicola Kilner

Founded 2013; 'The Abnormal Beauty Company', parent of viral D2C skincare brand The Ordinary. Estée Lauder took a stake in 2017, went controlling in 2021, and completed a full buyout on May 31 2024 (~$860M f...

Derrick Fung

Founded 2015; consumer rewards/loyalty app that gives cash-back points across 300+ merchant partners; signed up 3M+ users. Raised ~US$70M total including a US$44M ($58M CAD) NEA/HOF-led Series B (2019) with ...

Mike Gettis & Rajen Ruparell

Founded 2015; Canada's leading bed-in-a-box D2C mattress brand. Acquired by Sleep Country Canada in a landmark ~$89M deal (announced Nov 2018) — $63.7M cash at close plus up to $25M in earn-outs. Founders st...

Wehuns Tan

Founded 2007 as Wishabi; rebranded Flipp in 2015. Digital-flyer, coupon and shopping-list app that digitizes retailer circulars — reached 50M+ weekly users. Raised $61M from General Atlantic (2016) with Insi...

Ethan Song & Hicham Ratnani

Founded 2012 in Montreal's Mile End; sustainable D2C apparel + subscription, B Corp. FLAG: Montreal HQ, NOT GTA. Filed for bankruptcy Dec 2024; IP sold to Lamour Group / Thread Collective. Exclude.

Matt Golden

Founded 2011; leading Toronto seed-stage fund active across marketplace, e-commerce, food, logistics and consumer, plus SaaS/fintech. 220+ investments; consumer/commerce bets include Ritual, Properly, Rebels...

Joanna Griffiths

Founded 2013 via crowdfunding; D2C leakproof underwear and intimates brand. In 2022 Swedish hygiene giant Essity acquired 80% for US$320M, valuing Knix at ~US$400M — the largest publicly disclosed sale of a ...

Rami Helali, Mackenzie Yeates & Benjamin Sehl

Founded 2015; ethical D2C apparel built on a traceable Egyptian-cotton supply chain (7,000+ smallholder farms). Certified B Corp with an ABCs education initiative funding 23+ schools in rural Egypt. Flagship...

Noura Sakkijha & Majed Masad

Founded 2015; D2C fine-jewellery brand marketed to women buying for themselves. Third-generation Jordanian jeweller Noura Sakkijha raised a $23M NEA-led Series B (2019, joined by Felix Capital, Net-a-Porter)...

Yanal Dhailieh

Founded 2014; Toronto-pride and mission-driven D2C apparel/accessories brand that donates a portion of every purchase (mental-health and social causes). Bootstrapped digitally-native brand with a strong loca...

Proptech company modernizing home buying/selling with an iBuyer-style model; raised a $22M Series A. A recognizable Toronto proptech name in the 2023–2025 window.

Emily Hosie

Founded 2020; re-commerce marketplace for open-box and returned baby gear, processing overstock/returns for 2,500+ brands (Hudson's Bay, BabyBjörn, 4moms, Target). Raised a $24.45M CAD (US$18M) Series A in 2...

Albert Chow & Kenneth Mo

Founded 2017; digitally-native D2C home-furnishings brand (mattresses, bed frames, bedding, furniture) at accessible price points. Acquired by Sleep Country Canada in 2023 — Sleep Country's second Toronto D2...

Mark Bordo & Regan Johnson

Founded 2020; veterinary telemedicine marketplace connecting pet owners with vets over video/text/audio, plus pet-med commerce. Raised a $12.25M Series A (Whitecap, Brightspark) and an oversubscribed $37.8M ...

Allen Lau, Ivan Yuen

Founded 2006 in Toronto; storytelling/social-publishing platform with a large creator community and a data/IP-licensing (Wattpad Studios/Webtoon) business. Acquired by South Korea's Naver in 2021 for ~US$600...

Ali Asaria

Founded 2008; pioneering Canadian online health/beauty/household retailer (40,000+ SKUs). Acquired by McKesson Canada (Dec 2017); resold to PE firm Birch Hill Equity Partners (Sept 2024). Founder Ali Asaria ...