Agricycle

Agricycle is a Wisconsin-based startup that operates a B2B model that offers small farmers and food-related companies solutions that minimize food waste. The company’s key product is called a dehydrator, which is a solar-powered mechanism that preserves fruits and vegetables by drying them. According to Agricycle, this technology can be deployed by even the small farmers and is also used by the company for its food brand— Jali Fruit Co, a dried fruit snack (made from harvested and dried jackfruit, mango, and pineapple). Agricycle has also launched another brand called, Tropicoal Ignition, which is an upcycled cooking charcoal made from by-products such as cassava root, coconut shells, and palm kernel shells that would generally be discarded. The company reports that via this product it has diverted nearly 330,000 kg of coconut shells from going to waste.

As of September 2021, the company reportedly sold the two brands to over 1,000 stores in the US. The company primarily works with farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean to source its raw materials and holds a supplier network of 40,000 farmers (as of September 2021). Agricycle expects to operate within a network of 100,000 farmers by the end of 2021.

In September 2021, the company raised a total of USD 2.4 million in a two-part seed funding round led by MaSa Partners and CSA Partners. The company has planned to use the funds to launch its new upcycled ingredient brand, “Field Better Ingredients”, which is an organic gluten-free flour made from excess fruits. The company is targeting consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and bakeries for this product.