By Lynda Kiernan
Food and ag waste is a pressing problem occurring along the entire food supply chain from farm to storage, processing to retail, and on to restaurants and the point of consumption.
In the U.S. for instance, agricultural production uses 50 percent of the country’s land, 10 percent of its energy budget, and 80 percent of its fresh water, only to have 40 percent of the food produced go to waste, according to the report, Wasted: How America is Losing up to 40 Percent of its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill, by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
As agtech companies continue to strive to develop solutions that can mitigate these challenges, two startups have announced successful funding rounds within days of each other.
Hazel Technologies
Chicago-based Hazel Technologies announced it raised $13 million in Series B funding led by Pangaea Ventures and S2G Ventures. This oversubscribed round was also backed by Rhapsody Venture Partners, Serra Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, Climate Impact Capital, ImpactAssets, and new investors The Grantham Foundation and Asahi Kasei Ventures.
“Pangaea is thrilled to lead this financing in Hazel,” said Keith Gillard, general partner, Pangaea Ventures. “Hazel has a deep understanding of their customers that we rarely see in a start-up company.
Total funding to-date for the company now stands at $17.8 million, following a $3.26 million Series A in March 2018 that was led by S2G Ventures, and included Rhapsody Venture Partners, as well as Serra Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, and Climate Impact Capital.
Founded in 2015, Hazel’s technology is based on drop-in food packaging inserts called sachets that are placed in boxes of bulk produce by growers at time of harvest. The sachets then release an active, shelf-life enhancing vapor that can extend the shelf-life of fresh produce by up to three times by preventing fungus and decay.
Their drop-in solution for a broad set of supply chain applications will allow Hazel to be a true change maker in food waste reduction across the supply chain,” added Gillard.
Since 2017, the company has completed more than 100 pilot trials on melons, okra, apricots, avocados, cherries, and other high value fruits and vegetables, and setting Hazel apart from its rivals, its technology has been studied and tested by some of the country’s top academic research programs, including UC Davis and Cornell University.
With the capital from this round, Hazel intends to continue to grow its main product line, launch new technologies, and expand its team.
“This new financing brings in resources, both financial and strategic, that will grow Hazel from its current early commercial stage to become a profitable, world-leading provider of shelf life extension products,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO, Hazel Technologies. “We’ve delivered a solution that works both economically and environmentally, increasing efficiencies across the entire supply chain, and now we are able to roll these out to address food spoilage in multi-billion dollar markets internationally.”
Cambridge Crops
Almost simultaneously, Massachusetts-based Cambridge Crops announced that it had raised $4 million in Seed funding led by The Engine, a VC unit launched by MIT in 2016, and including Refactor Capital, Closed Loop Ventures, Bluestein & Associates, SOSV and Supply Chain Ventures.
Much like Hazel Technologies, Cambridge Crop’s technology focuses on preventing food loss through novel solutions. Using a natural protein that is extracted from silk through a water-based process, Cambridge Crops has developed a solution that can be applied to the surface of a food item, forming an undetectable protective layer.
“We are excited to help advance Cambridge Crops’ efforts in building and bringing to market a technology that can reshape how the food system works,” said Ann DeWitt, general partner at The Engine.
This layer which is applied through a wash or coating station at any point in the supply chain, is edible, tasteless, and does not alter the food in any manner. It extends shelf-life by preventing oxidation, improving water prevention, and slowing microbial growth, and has been proven effective on a range of foods from fresh produce to meat and fish.
“Our team is focused on improving how we interact with our food supply,” said Adam Behrens, CEO of Cambridge Crops. “The technology we’ve developed has far-reaching impact, from minimizing our reliance on single-use plastics to expanding global access to safe and nutritious foods.”
“And I could not be more excited to team up with our group of investors. Each of them brings a unique perspective to Cambridge Crops and are unified in our vision to sustainably transform the supply chain.”
Cambridge Crops plans to use this Seed funding to achieve USDA and FDA regulatory benchmarks, invest in the scaling-up of production, and the continued development of key partnerships in the food and agricultural industries.
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com
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