Martin Companies leads Moontoast round

Moontoast, the young social commerce application developer, has raised $6 million from existing investors, led by locally based Martin Companies.

The Boston- and Nashville-based company, which last month said it already had received commitments for $1.5 million [2], launched its "Social Activation Engine" in mid-2010 and has since recruited as clients Universal Music Group, Time/Fortune and Simon & Schuster, among other names. Moontoast's products let companies set up retail stores on social media platforms and through ad networks.

CEO Blair Heavey said his team had received interest from numerous potential investors but chose to stick with The Martin Companies because they “felt their continued involvement and guidance would be the best path for our growth and success.”

"We believe there is a fundamental shift occurring in digital commerce,” said Les Wilkinson, managing director of The Martin Companies and a member of Moontoast’s board. “Consumers expect opportunities for engagement and commerce to be delivered to them and brands are struggling to determine how best to respond. [...] Moontoast’s management team has emerged as the thought leaders in the social commerce space. Their distributed commerce, social analytics and game commerce products embody innovative and elegant solutions that drive unprecedented engagement for their customers and partners.”