Supermarket Perimeter - October 2021 - 16

Apeel's shelf lifeextending
technology
cuts down on food
waste in the fresh produce
section. Up to 25% of
purchased produce
goes to waste.
* Only accept and ship appropriate quality product to retailers. Find a
home right away for lower quality produce (foodbanks, wholesalers)
to limit waste.
IFoodDS offers a Quality Insights solution for retailers and distributors
including Ahold Delhaize, Meijer and US Foods, as well as for growerpacker-shippers
like Camposol.
The Quality Insights solution helps facilitate and track quality
inspections so that food that doesn't meet supplier or retailer standards
but is still edible and nutritious can be sent elsewhere, like a food bank
or wholesaler, Athanassiadis said.
" The result is improved supplier relationships and more consistency
in meeting quality standards over time, continuing to contribute to a
reduction in food waste. "
IFoodDS also offer a food safety solution that helps prevent issues
that can lead to recalls and result in dumped product, resulting in less
food waste and overall safer products for consumers to eat.
The company's software platform has been tracking produce quality
for its retailer customers for many years, and each of those retailers have
been inspecting thousands of items on a daily basis for all those years.
As a result, Obranovich said, iFoodDS has the largest database of
images of product quality variability data across most products. This
data provides predictive analytics and enables the company to identify
trends for its customers at an aggregate level.
" Our connected food safety, traceability, and quality solutions enable
us to offer a comprehensive solution for the full supply chain, from
grower to consumer, " she said. " While what we offer is important, how
we serve our customers is just as important to us, which is why we look
at ourselves as true partners through the entire onboarding process,
and throughout our relationship with each and every customer. "
16 - OCTOBER 2021
Food waste fighter Apeel secures new funding
Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Apeel, whose shelf-life extending
technologies help retailers fight food waste, has secured $250 million in
Series E funding led by returning investor Temasek. The company's
total funding now exceeds $635 million, with a valuation over $2 billion
dollars.
" The pandemic has completely shaken up food retail: people are
increasingly buying their fresh produce online, while simultaneously
expecting the best in terms of quality and sustainability, " said James
Rogers, CEO of Apeel. " We'll use our latest funding to help our supplier
and retailer partners offer a differentiated experience to their shoppers:
high-quality produce that's less likely to go to waste at home. By
using solutions by nature and for nature, and in collaboration with
food supply chain partners around the world, we can ensure people
everywhere have a great experience with their fresh produce while
increasing the sustainability of the global food system. "
Food waste accounts for roughly 8% of global greenhouse gases,
which makes reducing it the most impactful action people can take to
fight climate change, Rogers said.
This new investment will be used in part to accelerate Apeel's
partnerships and plant-based products that aim to prevent food waste
at every step of the fresh food supply chain, including for the consumer
at home where approximately 25% of produce purchased goes to waste
in American households.
Apeel will also use its new funding to co-create new supply networks
with produce suppliers and retailers that will increase the availability
of longer-lasting produce, including avocados, limes, mangoes,
cucumbers, apples and more, for consumers across the U.S., U.K.,
and Europe.
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Supermarket Perimeter - October 2021

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