We produce 17% more food than 30 years ago. However, almost one billion people are starving. The cause is improper storage and shipping of food products. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that some 30% of food in the world ends up in garbage. Startups from the United States and Peru are trying to solve the problem of excessive food waste. Using different ingredients and techniques they have developed methods to extend the expiration dates of fruits and vegetables by several weeks.
Squeeze it dry
Founder of Apeel Sciences James Rogers spent six and a half years and hundreds of millions of dollars on solving the problem of food waste in the United States. He almost succeeded. His invention is a tasteless, colorless and still edible coating that is suitable for dozens of fruits and vegetables. How does the Apeel Sciences technology work? The company squeezes oils from seeds and skin of, for example, grapes, then turns it into powder which is diluted in water and sprayed onto fresh produce. The resulting fat lipids function as cellular membrane and preserve fluid and oxygen thus protecting produce from decay. Each fruit or vegetable requires a specific amount of Apeel coating. It took James Rogers six years to find the perfect proportions. Now his development suits more than three dozens of fruits and vegetables.
This year Apeel Sciences started selling its first product, coating for avocado. Such major supermarket chains as Harps and Costco signed deals with the startup. Rogers claims that within three months Harps reduced its avocado waste by 60%. A couple of months later, Apeel-coated avocados appeared on the shelves at 109 stores of the Kroger nationwide chain in Cincinnati. Andreessen Horowitz and Viking Global Investors that invested $110 mio into the invention now estimate the net worth of the company as $350 mio although Apeel Sciences has not paid off yet. It will have to expand its ‘variety’ in order to break even.
Just add Hazel
Aidan Mouat, co-chairman and CEO of Hazel Technologies, explains the simple kitchen technique: to speed up ripening of green bananas or tomatoes, put them in a paper bag. The bag is a trap for ethylene, which is produced by some vegetables and fruit and can promote ripening in them. Hazel Technologies found a way to extend the shelf life of foods from 6 days to 15 and more. One only needs to put a Hazel bag (which has the size of a matchbox) in the container or box with fruit or vegetables.
Hazel Technologies won $500K in the Clean Energy Trust Challenge competition. The startup potential was recognized by Rhapsody Venture Partners, VentureWell and Valley Oak Investments; they invested some $800K in the project. According to the CrunchBase platform for finding business information, the company received a total of $4.8 mio in investments. The first clients of Hazel Technologies are the largest fruit and vegetable producers Dresick Farms International (DFI) and Agritrade Farms International.
We would be the first to introduce this technology to retail sellers, distributers and customers, Mouat says. He believes that within five-ten years, the Hazel Technologies logo might appear in grocery stores all over the world.
Solution from Peru
Business schools usually teach that entrepreneurs should consume their own production. Founders of the Peru-based company Bio Natural Cover Ximena Adriazola and Miguel Malnati strictly adhere to this principle. They demonstratively try a mango which was sprayed by a ripening agent of their own invention. The fruit has been stored for a couple of weeks longer that it should have been, but it did not go bad.
Bio Natural Cover developed a transparent, odorless liquid that does not affect the taste and texture of vegetables and fruit. The product has been tested: the first experiments were conducted on mangos, avocados, oranges, strawberries and tangerines. Ximena does not reveal the ingredients of the Bio Natural Cover spray, but describes it as a natural and edible product, which can prolong the shelf life of food by 200%.
The Peru-based startup plans to begin selling the spray in the spring 2019. It will be sold in 4-liter (1 gal) cans, which will be enough for three tons of fruit. The young company mostly counts on the agroindustrial companies and farming associations in Peru.
By Olga Grinevich