CHICAGO (December 2, 2020) – Catch Co., a digital sportfishing brand platform, today announced that it has closed a $6 million funding round, led by existing investor Listen Ventures. These funds will support Catch Co. in its mission to create amazing fishing brands, products and shopping experiences for the modern angler.
Founded in 2012, Catch Co. has quickly grown from offering a monthly fishing tackle subscription called Mystery Tackle Box, to selling its own fishing lures and rods, launching the Karl’s Bait & Tackle e-commerce platform, and producing a long-form content series. After creating a strong foundation with its digital-first approach, last year Catch Co. also began casting its products into new channels, including retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart.
“Brands today are being built at the intersection of content, community and commerce. Catch Co. has executed on this model brilliantly and built the fastest-growing brand in fishing. Listen is all-in on this dynamic brand and team and their goal to move consumers to the outdoors,” said Rick Desai, Managing Partner at Listen.
Catch Co. continues to see rapid growth across its entire ecosystem with year-over-year growth rates approaching 100%. Catch Co. expects to deliver over 2.5 million Mystery Tackle Boxes in 2021 and anticipates membership to its Karl’s Bait & Tackle ecommerce site to surpass 50,000 anglers in 2021 - a 500% increase since its 2018 launch. All of this growth is underpinned by its social community and innovative content, including “Unchartered,” which just surpassed 15 million minutes streamed on YouTube and Amazon Prime.
Part of the capital raise will go toward investing in new product categories, like Catch Co.’s latest expansion of its first-ever fishing rod, developed in collaboration with famed YouTube influencers, the Googan Squad, which sold out during pre-orders.
“Catch Co. and Mystery Tackle Box were born out of our passion for authentically engaging with our customer community, which plays a major role in how we develop products and content,” says Ross Gordon, the company’s founder & CEO. “Since the very beginning our focus has been on genuinely connecting with modern anglers in ways that build unmatched brand loyalty. We are making fishing more enjoyable, inclusive, and accessible for tens of millions of anglers and our approach is not only helping us grow, it's growing the sport."
To learn more about Catch Co., view its content series and explore species and waterbody-specific product lines developed to help anglers catch more fish, visit CatchCo.com. Follow along with over 1 million anglers on the brand’s @CatchCo, @MysteryTackleBox and @KarlsBaitandTackle social channels on all platforms.