Mercado Labs helped retailers and brands bring transparency, accountability and visibility to how they sourced products across complex global supply chains. The platform sat where technology, retail operations and ESG meet. It helped businesses vet suppliers and monitor compliance. It also helped them respond to rising expectations around ethical sourcing, anti-slavery legislation and sustainability disclosure. Studio Nine partnered with Mercado Labs for six years, from earliest-stage startup through to acquisition. Throughout, Studio Nine founder Simon Lodge acted as the company’s de facto Chief Marketing Officer, so he led supply chain marketing from inside the executive team, reporting directly to the CEO. The engagement ended when CargoWise acquired Mercado Labs in 2024.
The challenge
Mercado Labs operated in a category that was still forming. Supply chain transparency was fast becoming a board-level concern. However, most retailers and brands didn’t yet have a vocabulary, a budget line or an internal owner for it. So the company had to educate the market, build category credibility and convert enterprise buyers, all at once. On top of that, the work spanned several growth stages. The marketing function had to evolve alongside the business through pre-seed, seed and Series A.
Our role
Studio Nine didn’t operate as a typical agency. Instead, we owned the marketing function end to end. That ran from positioning and brand strategy through to day-to-day execution, demand generation, content, web and sales enablement. Because of that model, Mercado Labs could move at the speed of a venture-backed startup. It never had to build, manage and rebuild an in-house team at every stage.
Embedded CMO leadership
Simon Lodge sat within the executive team as de facto CMO. He partnered with the CEO on strategy, growth and the marketing operating model across pre-seed, seed and Series A.
Brand & positioning foundations
We defined the strategic positioning, messaging architecture, narrative and visual identity. Together they established Mercado Labs as a credible, modern voice in global supply chain technology.
End-to-end marketing ownership
Studio Nine also operated the full marketing function. That meant the website, comms, campaigns, lead and demand generation, content, sales enablement, brand and marketing operations.
ESG & ethical sourcing narrative
We helped turn the company’s mission into a commercial story. It connected supply chain transparency, anti-slavery compliance and sustainability accountability to enterprise pain points and budgets.
Demand generation engine
Next, we built and ran the multi-channel demand engine. It combined funnel design, campaign development, sales enablement and content-driven awareness, all within a relationship-led enterprise category.
Growth through funding stages
We evolved the marketing infrastructure, brand and narrative through three growth stages. At each step, they supported investor conversations and enterprise positioning.
Impact
Mercado Labs had six years of continuous embedded partnership, from pre-seed to exit, with three funding stages supported. Then came a successful next chapter: acquisition by CargoWise in 2024.
“Studio Nine didn’t feel like an agency. They were our marketing team. Simon led marketing strategy at the executive level from day one to acquisition.”
— CEO, Mercado Labs (2018–2024)