Spoiler Alert B2B Excess and Short-Dated Inventory Platform

Spoiler Alert is a Boston-based software company founded in 2015 out of MIT Sloan by Ricky Ashenfelter and Emily Malina. It tackles the excess and short-dated inventory that consumer packaged goods brands accumulate through forecasting errors, seasonal swings and packaging changes, which often ends up discounted through opaque brokers or sent to landfill.

The B2B commerce platform connects inventory data from suppliers, applies channel, pricing and logistics guardrails, and matches lots with a network of more than 270 vetted off-price retailers, wholesalers and nonprofits, handling listing through fulfilment. A Managed Marketplace adds curated buyer matching, and pricing and demand intelligence draws on over 6 billion USD of transaction data. Users include PepsiCo, Danone North America, Kraft Heinz, Campbell's, Conagra and Hormel Foods.

• Supplier workspace: connects inventory data and sets channel, pricing and logistics guardrails.
• Buyer network: more than 270 vetted off-price retailers, wholesalers and nonprofits.
• Managed Marketplace: curated matching of surplus lots to verified buyer demand.
• Pricing intelligence: recommendations based on over 6 billion USD of transaction data.
• End-to-end workflow: covers listing, offers, order management and fulfilment.
• Analytics: tracks margin, remaining shelf life and holding costs to improve future sales.

• Vietnamese dairy, snack and beverage manufacturers selling near-expiry stock to discount chains instead of destroying it.
• Distributors of imported foods clearing seasonal or label-change inventory with price and channel controls.
• Food banks and social enterprises sourcing surplus packaged food through a vetted channel.

• Faster recovery: the vendor cites 65% faster speed to market for excess inventory.
• More revenue: users report 50% growth in discount revenue and 60% more sales channels.
• Brand control: suppliers set which channels, prices and regions each lot may go to.
• Less waste: the platform reports more than 2.2 billion pounds of consumables kept out of landfill.

Food and beverage brands face growing volumes of excess and near-expiry stock as product ranges and promotions multiply, while regulators and investors push for food loss reporting. A structured secondary market for short-dated goods is emerging globally, and the fast growth of discount and near-date retail formats in Southeast Asia creates demand for transparent B2B liquidation channels.

Founded in 2015 out of MIT Sloan; headquartered at 131 Dartmouth Street, Boston. Investors include Collaborative Fund, Techstars, MassChallenge, Maersk and Acre Venture Partners. Named to the 2026 Inc. 5000, No. 7 in Logistics on Fast Company's 2026 Most Innovative Companies, and 2026 SupplyTech Breakthrough Inventory Management Innovation of the Year.