How Immi Scaled Their Revenue Growth with Crstl

‍Immi has rapidly expanded across retail shelves nationwide, offering America’s first high-protein, low-carb instant ramen brand. 

Launched four years ago, the company established itself quickly through strong product differentiation and remarkable retail partnerships, including Target, Whole Foods, UNFI Natural, UNFI Conventional, Thrive Market, GNC, KeHE, H-E-B, and more.

"The product itself has always received positive feedback from customers who have tasted it," says Silas Ang, Director of Supply Chain at Immi. "Our retail velocity has grown substantially within the past few years."

Managing the end-to-end supply chain from product import to customer delivery, Ang oversees the critical operations that keep Immi’s innovative ramen reaching consumers nationwide. Their commitment to quality and health-conscious alternatives to traditional instant ramen positioned them strongly in the market.

However, as retail partnerships expanded and order volumes grew, Immi faced mounting challenges with their electronic data interchange (EDI) systems—a critical component for modern retail operations.

Challenge: When Growth Meets Technical Hurdles

Scaling a CPG brand meant dealing with complex retailer requirements and managing increasing order volumes. 

Immi’s previous EDI provider, an incumbent in the space, presented several operational roadblocks that hindered growth and efficiency.

"A lot of EDI companies are quite big. For a startup like us, and for a lot of CPG brands, it’s hard to get their help," Ang recalls. "If you have a specialty customer that you want to set up, it takes a long time."

The challenges extended beyond just slow response times. With their previous provider, getting support meant navigating through layers of bureaucracy, often with tickets being passed around without resolution. Each new retail partnership required extensive setup time, creating bottlenecks in Immi’s expansion plans.

"At another brand I worked with, there was a legacy EDI provider integration that took an entire year," Ang notes, highlighting the industry-wide challenge of traditional EDI implementations.

Solution: Finding the Right Partner

Through a referral, Immi discovered Crstl. 

The platform’s approach to EDI implementation and management aligned perfectly with Immi’s needs for rapid growth and efficient operations.

"Crstl takes all the complexity off our plate," Ang explains. "They drive the car for us while we focus on growing the business."

The platform offered several standout features that made it particularly valuable for Immi’s operations:

• Real-time PO visibility through the Slack integration
• Quick customer onboarding processes
• Direct access to dedicated support staff
• Seamless CIN7 integration
• White-glove implementation service

"The relationship is key - our employees actually know your employees. It allows for much closer communication as opposed to sending an email or flagging something to a very large team where you have to get a ticket," Ang emphasizes.

Impact: Streamlined Operations and Enhanced Efficiency

After switching to Crstl, Immi experienced immediate improvements in their operational efficiency. 

Crstl's intuitive interface and robust support system enabled faster onboarding of new retail partners and smoother day-to-day operations.

"Our team is a lot more efficient. When it comes to onboarding a customer, the time that it takes is very short," Ang reports. 

Crstl’s Slack integration particularly transformed how Immi’s team stayed informed about orders. "Everyone in the company is able to see when POs are being received. It’s a very neat tool," Ang notes.

Results in Numbers

• Reduced EDI integration time from 1 year (with previous provider) to days
• Successfully launched in retail stores nationwide 
• Maintained consistent growth in retail velocity over the past few years

The Immi case demonstrates how modern EDI solutions can remove technical barriers to growth for emerging CPG brands. Through their partnership with Crstl, Immi transformed their order management processes from a potential bottleneck into a streamlined operation, enabling them to focus on their core mission of bringing healthy, protein-rich ramen to consumers nationwide.

Like Immi, you can streamline your EDI operations and focus on growing your brand. Schedule a demo with Crstl today to learn how we can help your business manage retail partnerships efficiently.