Retail Technology Startup Stories Interview: Cavela Founder and CEO Anthony Sardain

RTIH gets the lowdown on Cavela, which has been building an AI platform to connect product makers (e-commerce, boutique brands, startups) with the right supplier to manufacture physical products at the best price.

RTIH: Tell us about yourself and Cavela.

AS: Cavela is a platform that helps brands and businesses create custom products.

The process is simple: answer a few questions from our AI product creation assistant, upload your product details, and Cavela will find the best supplier for your needs. From there, we handle everything - from sending samples to your doorstep to delivering finished orders to your warehouse.

Cavela matches your specific product requirements with over 200,000 premium suppliers worldwide, and uses AI to reach out to and negotiate with hundreds of them on your behalf.  

This allows us to engage with far more suppliers than you could on your own, leading to better matches and more competitive quotes than traditional sourcing methods.

On average, brands working with Cavela reduce production costs by 40% and eliminate hundreds of hours of manual work by switching to our recommended suppliers.

I’m Anthony Sardain, founder and CEO of the company. I grew up in Southeast Asia, where my family was involved in the trade of steel products. My graduate work focused on applying predictive algorithms to global trade, after which I went on to build out data science and product teams in various AI startups, before committing fully to building Cavela. 

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?

AS: The a-ha moment came when a family member was struggling to source custom products for a hotel project in Thailand. To help her out, I built a small programme that drastically reduced the amount of work needed.

Shortly after, a friend came to me with a similar problem she was facing sourcing products in India for her D2C brand. These were different products, sourced from different countries, with different use cases - yet it was the same pain point and required the same solution.

That’s when I realised we had something valuable, which inspired me to scale the solution into what eventually became Cavela.

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

AS: Tremendous. When we opened our waitlist to the public, sign ups poured in from users around the world and across every sector - from large retailers looking to change suppliers or launch new products, to prominent non-profits, tech companies, and sports clubs looking to make new and exciting promotional items. 

Media engagement has been extremely positive as well, with coverage from top-tier tech and business outlets, as well as prominent niche industry publications. I even saw Cavela mentioned on a prominent national news programme in Mexico discussing the potential impact of technology on Mexico-China trade relations. It was exciting to see. 

It's evident that we're addressing a real pain point for businesses everywhere, and the broad willingness to adopt novel technologies speaks to the need for innovative solutions in this space.

RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?

AS: I think that whenever you enter a space with a breakthrough solution, there’s understandably some work needed to convince people who’ve been using traditional methods for decades that there’s a better way.

Early on, we faced some scepticism about whether AI could really automate everything we claimed. However, as we’ve proven what we can do, much of that scepticism has disappeared.

In fact, every business we’ve worked with has not only gone on to source more products with us but has also moved their existing product lines to Cavela, which I think speaks to the value of what we've built.

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing omnichannel retailers right now?

AS: One challenge we’re hearing about increasingly - especially with the approaching US elections - is the uncertainty surrounding escalating global tensions around trade.

Brands and businesses are understandably concerned about how potential changes in trade policies and tariffs could impact their supply chains.  

Many have approached us looking to hedge these risks by diversifying production lines or seeking backup solutions to stay resilient in case of disruptions. This is precisely where we can offer solutions - by enabling businesses to pivot their supply chains efficiently without disrupting their operations.

RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?

AS: I often get asked by both investors and customers about how brands should remain competitive given the growing trend of consumers buying directly from suppliers. 

I do think brands are definitely facing increased pressure to differentiate themselves, and I think we're going to see brands double down on efforts to cultivate a unique and compelling brand image.

Rather than competing purely on price, brands need to focus on offering something distinctive - whether that’s through truly unique products, strong storytelling, or superior customer experiences.

Ultimately, I see this trend as a net positive, pushing businesses to deliver more value to consumers by offering unique and high-quality products that stand out from the generic alternatives.

RTIH: What can we expect to see from Cavela during the rest of 2024 and into 2025?

AS: With our launch behind us, we'll be focused on driving growth - onboarding new businesses and continually refining the platform to meet the evolving demands of our users.  

In addition, we’re also expanding our automations to make the sourcing process even smoother and more efficient, while growing our global supplier network across more countries and product categories.  

This will provide users with even greater options and flexibility. We’re entering an exciting phase, and we’re confident that the best is yet to come as we continue to scale and innovate.

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Startups are a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.