How Sotira Turns Surplus Inventory Into Value

Amrita Bhasin, cofounder and CEO at Sotira, a B2B startup that uses AI to help brands and retailers resell surplus inventory into secondary markets.

Shoptalk

Surplus inventory is a hidden, but costly, crisis. Every year, billions of dollars in unsold goods—from food and beverages to apparel—end up in landfills or in deeply discounted markets, which erodes brand value and harms the environment.

At just 24, Amrita Bhasin, cofounder and CEO of Sotira, is challenging that status quo. Her San Francisco startup uses AI-driven software to help brands and retailers offload surplus inventory into secondary markets discreetly, efficiently, and profitably.

By turning waste into recovery, Sotira is transforming reverse logistics, a sector projected to grow from $823 billion in 2024 to $3.18 trillion by 2033. It’s a massive, largely invisible system that underpins consumer goods worldwide.

Bhasin’s journey also highlights the hurdles women and Gen Z founders face in venture capital—yet her early success shows how new voices are reshaping old industries.

Why Surplus Inventory Is a $3 Trillion Challenge

Most shoppers don’t think about what happens to products that never sell. Yet, every year, retailers and brands are left with staggering amounts of unsold goods. In the food and beverage sector, “short-dated” items with less than six months of shelf life often get pulled from shelves—even though they’re perfectly edible. Apparel companies grapple with textile overproduction. Cosmetics brands face constant turnover in packaging and trends.

In California, new legislation such as SB 1383 (on organic waste) and SB 707 (on textiles) is pushing companies to find more sustainable solutions. The problem is clear: Businesses need a way to recover value from surplus without harming their image.

B2B Platform Turns Overstock Into Opportunity

That’s where Sotira comes in. Founded in 2023 by Bhasin and her cofounder, CTO Gary Kwong, Sotira is a B2B marketplace that connects retailers and brands with secondary market buyers—discount grocery stores, surplus emporiums, and regional outlets that specialize in overstock. Unlike consumer-facing discount chains, these buyers discreetly absorb truckloads of unsold goods, protecting brand integrity while giving products a second life.

What sets Sotira apart is its use of artificial intelligence to automate a notoriously antiquated process. Reverse logistics has long been dominated by spreadsheets, phone calls, and manual negotiations. Sotira’s platform allows suppliers to upload surplus inventory, match it with vetted buyers, and handle compliance and payments—all without building warehouses or owning trucks.

The model has already won traction across multiple sectors. Sotira started with food and beverage, then expanded into health and wellness and cosmetics. Apparel, with its complex classifications and high environmental stakes, is the next frontier.

Customers say the difference is tangible. “We had accumulated overstock at Tru due to forecasting challenges…and shifts in retail performance,” said Yash Banthia, cofounder and COO of beverage brand Tru. “Overstock tied up capital but also added incremental costs, making it a pressing issue. We ultimately decided to partner with Sotira because they offered a tailored solution that aligned with our needs. Thanks to Sotira, we resolved our overstock challenges more strategically and efficiently than we could have hoped.”

Industry experts agree. “Sotira is an innovative AI-driven solution that enables quicker purchasing and improved efficiency for retailers, distributors, and brands to sell returns and overstock without compromising brand integrity,” said Tony Sciarrotta, executive director of the Reverse Logistics Association. “The company is well positioned to help businesses lower their costs while increasing recovery rates, areas in which improvements are needed in the reverse logistics market.”

Investors see the opportunity, too. “Sotira is tackling one of the most overlooked and expensive problems in commerce—surplus,” said Chris Howard, founder of Ritual Capital. “In a space bogged down by inefficiency and outdated logistics, Sotira is building the infrastructure layer to unlock liquidity, reduce waste, and turn a cost center into a competitive advantage.”

VC Funding Bias Meets Gen Z Leadership

Bhasin’s entrepreneurial path has been shaped as much by obstacles as by opportunity. She raised $2.2 million in early 2025, but the process underscored the barriers female founders continue to face.

Her mixed-gender founding team fits the profile that garnered 21.6% of venture dollars in 2024, but she often fundraised alone. That left her feeling more like a solo female founder—a category that received just 2.1% of venture capital. Research by Dana Kanze shows why: Men are more often asked promotion-oriented questions (“How will you grow?”), while women field prevention-oriented ones (“How will you avoid failure?”). Bhasin experienced the divide firsthand.

The irony is that women founders tend to outperform their male peers. A 2025 report from the Female Founders Fund found that female-led startups generated 78 cents of revenue for every dollar raised, compared to just 31 cents for male-founded startups. They also burned 15% less capital. Studies by First Round Capital and Boston Consulting Group echo those findings.

For Bhasin, another challenge is age. At 24, she is one of the youngest female CEOs in the supply chain industry—an “old school” sector still dominated by men in their 50s and 60s. Early on, she worried about being dismissed for her youth. But she soon realized her generation’s perspective is a competitive advantage.

When invited to speak at a logistics conference on tariffs, she included TikTok screenshots from Gen Z consumers frustrated by unexpected duties on fast fashion. The presentation resonated with an audience of older executives who rarely encounter these insights. “My age is an asset,” she explained. “Our industry exists to serve consumers, and my generation is the next wave of buyers. Businesses need to understand us.”

Why the Future of Logistics Needs Diverse Founders

Reverse logistics may not be glamorous, but it touches nearly every aspect of modern life—from Amazon packages to pharmaceutical supplies. The industry is too important to remain stuck in outdated systems that waste money and pollute the planet.

Sotira’s early success suggests that change is possible. By using AI to automate surplus management, the startup is creating financial recovery for businesses, reducing environmental damage, and opening new opportunities in a multitrillion-dollar market.

But the bigger story is who is leading this change. Bhasin’s rise shows how women and young founders can break into industries long considered off-limits. Her perspective as a Gen Z woman of color in a male-dominated sector isn’t just inspiring—it’s reshaping how the industry thinks about innovation, inclusion, and sustainability.

If a 24-year-old can reimagine the backbone of global commerce, perhaps other entrenched industries are ready for transformation too. And as Sotira proves, solving the surplus problem isn’t just about waste—it’s about unlocking new value and building a more sustainable economy.