Seedcamp is Europe's seed fund, identifying and investing early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. The Seedcamp Nation includes over 400 startups building breakout businesses that change the way people live, interact and buy and includes publicly listed UiPath, Wise, and unicorns Revolut, Hopin, Sorare, Pleo, and wefox along with fast-growing businesses such as Grover, viz.ai and Ezra.  Seedcamp fast-tracks a founder's vision and creates value through immediate access to smart capital, a lifelong community of support and a global network built upon more than a decade's experience backing exceptional talent. Seedcamp fast-tracks a founder's vision and creates value through immediate access to smart capital, a lifelong community of support, and a global network built upon more than a decade's experience backing exceptional talent.

Seedcamp

Mustard Seed enables the creation and evolution of world-class businesses that generate positive and sustainable outcomes. They believe that solving big social and environmental problems drives commercial success in the long run. They seek scalable solutions to gaps currently left unfilled by government and industry in the areas of economic inclusion, education, environmental sustainability, health, and family and community.   Mustard Seed invests in and incubates socially and environmentally impactful start-ups. They connect a dynamic and influential network of global members with exceptional entrepreneurial talent across the world. They also develop bespoke impact measurement frameworks and support established companies to align profit and impact through tailored strategies and effective deployment of their resources.   Mustard Seed was co-founded by Alex Pitt and Henry Wigan, first classmates at the London School of Economics and later colleagues at Goldman Sachs. In 2013 Henry and Alex observed a rising appetite for socially-minded entrepreneurship among the world’s most talented graduates. They also observed a critical lack of capital to adequately meet this need. They started Mustard Seed to bridge the gap.

Mustard Seed

RECAPEX focuses on providing digital related businesses and entrepreneurs with research, capital, and consulting services. It caters to companies in Europe and the United States. RECAPEX was acquired by Campanja in October 2015. RECAPEX was founded by Christopher Persson, Niklas Eklund, and Johan Siwers in 2011. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

RECAPEX

D-Ax is a partnership between Axel Johnson, a Swedish retail conglomerate and RECAPEX, a Nordic Investment company. Axel Johnson’s aim with D-ax is to invest in digital entrepreneurial companies. The ambition is to increase the trading group’s digital resources. As one of the Nordic region’s leading trading groups, Axel Johnson aims to meet with customers across all contact channels and develop new digital offers. The ambition is to is to increase the trading group’s digital resources.  The firm looking for entrepreneurial digital companies that do business in trading and services. The companies should have achieved a certain level of sales and have a proven business model. While they may be e-commerce companies, this is not a must; they might also be companies that work with other digital business ideas within the spectrum covering online marketing, data transparency and data analysis.

D-Ax Corporate Venture Capital

Circularity Capital is a specialist private equity firm investing in European growth SMEs operating in the circular economy. The company uses the circular economy as a framework to support investee businesses decouple their growth from resource constraints, enhance resource productivity and drive competitive advantage. The team has specific expertise and a powerful network in the circular economy which we use to identify, source and secure proprietary investment opportunities and add value to portfolio businesses through access to talent, market information and new business development opportunities. The company's investors include financial institutions, global corporations and leading family offices. At the heart of Circularity’s ability to create value for investors is its focus on combining specialist expertise in the circular economy with institutional quality private equity experience.

Circularity Capital

R/GA Ventures goes beyond financial capital to provide access to R/talent GA's and extensive client network to founders. It is developing an innovation platform to assist industry leaders in disrupting business as usual by connecting them with groundbreaking technologies and emerging players that can open up new doors. Beyond financial capital, R/GA Ventures connects early- and growth-stage startups with its creative talent, clients, and innovative program partners. Its flexible financing terms help businesses at every stage of funding and growth. It invests at current market valuations in each of its program companies.

R/GA Ventures

As experts in media, infrastructure and real estate, They act as the bridge between finance and business. They create value by identifying, funding and managing compelling investment opportunities. They do this by blending experience, sector knowledge and an extensive network of commercial relationships. Their skills extend across investment, fund management, capital raising, banking, operations, corporate finance and asset management.  Their multi-disciplinary teams, drawn from industry, professional services and financial institutions, ensure exceptional execution capability. They are always open to new ideas. So whether you’re an investor, an adviser or a potential partner within one of Their sectors, we’d love to hear from you. - See more at: http://www.theingeniousgroup.co.uk/about-us/#sthash.Gj0xDqND.dpuf

The Ingenious Group

Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V. and its controlled entities) is one of 11 different groups of companies that own and operate IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments, and Ingka Centres. It is the world’s largest home furnishing retailer operating 367 IKEA stores in 30 markets. These IKEA stores had 838 million visits during FY18 and 2.35 billion visits to www.ikea.com. Ingka Group operates the business under the IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for many people by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.

Ingka Group

AccelerAsia Ventures invests in seed and Series A rounds of B2B technology companies. Our network and BD skills in the APAC region make companies that are interested in this region logical partners.

Accelerasia Ventures

ArcTern Ventures is a venture capital fund that provides early-stage capital to cleantech companies. The privately-backed venture capital fund provides early-stage capital to companies developing breakthrough ideas in the cleantech sector. The Fund has developed a unique early-stage investment model through its partnership with MaRS, one of the largest innovation centers in the world.

ArcTern Ventures

Novax is part of Axel Johnson, a family business founded in 1873 and now run by the fourth and fifth generations. With trade as a starting point, the Group has changed shape and form over the years. On the other hand, the will and drive to change in combination with developing long-term profitable business has been intact.

Novax

Ingka Investments invests in innovative companies and connects entrepreneurs to a vast and diverse network of partners. The firm combines handling resources respectfully while supporting the growth of innovative companies. It was founded in 2018 and headquartered in South Holland, Illinois.

Ingka Investments

Bridge Nine was founded by 19-year-old hardcore-punk music fan Chris Wrenn decided to stop standing on the sideline and began contributing to the local scene by helping friends from his high school get a 7-inch record pressed.

Bridge Nine

ABC Impact is a private equity firm that invests in companies to increase their impact.

ABC Impact

Winnow

Winnow builds artificial intelligence tools to help chefs run more profitable and sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half. They develop technology to cut food waste in their operations. Their digital tools provide data to drive improvements in kitchen production processes and reduce environmental footprint. Winnow's mission is to connect commercial kitchen, create a movement of chefs, and inspire others. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in London, England, United Kingdom.

UK-based Winnow Solutions identifies and measures waste in commercial kitchens. The company records the reason for the waste, calculates the value of the wasted food, and keeps track of this data in the cloud. The company’s self-titled product shares technology with autonomous vehicles, using cameras to record and learn about food being wasted and calculate the financial and environmental cost of this discarded food. Winnow Vision also provides a Waste Monitor solution to help kitchen staff track how and what food is wasted to adjust their spending on food ingredients and eliminate overproduction.

Tech solutions for achieving global anti-wastage targets

Food Waste

Winnow Solutions

Winnow Set to Demo at FinovateFall 2024

UK-based Winnow Solutions identifies and measures waste in commercial kitchens. The company records the reason for the waste, calculates the value of the wasted food, and keeps track of this data in the cloud. The company’s self-titled product shares technology with autonomous vehicles, using cameras to record and learn about food being wasted and calculate the financial and environmental cost of this discarded food. Winnow Vision also provides a Waste Monitor solution to help kitchen staff track how and what food is wasted to adjust their spending on food ingredients and eliminate overproduction.As of October 2024, Winnow Solutions reported that it had annually saved over 50 million meals, reduced 87,000 tons of CO2, and saved USD 70 million for customers.Key customers and partnershipsWinnow’s customers include the catering company&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5386">ISS</a> and hotels such as Accor, Fairmont, The Westin, Four Seasons, and Hilton Tokyo Bay.&nbsp;In September 2023, Winnow Solutions partnered with Ne’ma, the UAE’s National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, to support Ne’ma with data, benchmarking, and best practices for the hotels, restaurants, and catering (HoReCa) sector.&nbsp; Following this, Winnow was selected as a preferred food waste management vendor by Dayblink GPO in November 2023.

Apeel Sciences is a California-based food technology company that produces edible coatings made of plant materials that extend the lifetime of fruits by 2x–3x to prevent food wastage in regions where refrigeration is scarce.&nbsp;The coatings are intended for use on fruits and vegetables, with a primary focus on avocados, apples, mangos, cucumbers, and citrus fruits.&nbsp;According to the company, US retailers that used Apeel experienced a 50% reduction in waste alongside a 5%–10% growth in sales on average. As of&nbsp;April 2024, Apeel Sciences reported to have saved&nbsp;over&nbsp;60 million pieces of produce from going to waste at retail stores by partnering with small family-owned farmers, local organic growers, grocery stores, and large food brands.&nbsp;As of October&nbsp;2024, the company was offering its solution to a network of 30 suppliers and 40 retailers across eight countries, including the US, UK, Spain, Netherlands, and Kenya. The company focuses on expanding its market presence across North America and the EU.In May 2020, Apeel announced plans to expand to Sub-Saharan Africa, Central, and South America—all regions where food wastage was increasing.&nbsp;Following this, Apeel expanded to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 and began its expansion to South America in 2024.In May 2021, Apeel Sciences acquired&nbsp;the&nbsp;startup Impact Vision for an undisclosed amount. Impact Vision’s technology allows suppliers to see inside their fresh produce and ultimately reduce post-harvest loss and optimize distribution while continuing to extend shelf life.&nbsp;Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;Apeel has partnered with various distributors for the distribution of its avocados, including The Kroger Company in September 2018 for Cincinnati, Calavo Growers in January 2021, and Nature’s Pride for Europe in March 2021.&nbsp;The company also collaborated with Topline Farms in February 2023 for the development of the Apeel-Protected Mini Cucumber and licensed its coating technology to Limoneira in May 2023 for use on lemons.&nbsp;

Apeel Sciences

Shelf Engine provides demand forecasting tools,&nbsp;which leverage AI and machine learning, for perishable food items to reduce inefficiencies in the ordering system and minimize overall costs. According to Shelf Engine, more than 30% of highly perishable foods in grocery stores such as meat and vegetables expire before the sell-by date. Shelf Engine’s scan-based trade (SBT) technology guarantees sales and pays for any items that remain unsold. Via the SBT, Shelf Engine manages orders, pays vendors, and only charges the retailer for what sells while still paying suppliers for their full order and increasing its accuracy over time. Shelf generates revenue by charging a markup on the product from the vendor to the retailer.As of October 2024, Shelf Engine operated in more than 3,000 grocery stores and claimed to increase profit margins by more than 50% by reducing food waste by as much as 32%.&nbsp;Shelf Engine also reported that it prevented 5.2 million lbs of food wastage, decreased 8,200 tons of CO2, and saved 500 million gallons of water.Key customers and partnershipsIn January 2024, Shelf Engine partnered with Dollar General to implement fully automated AI-powered ordering for produce, aiming to enhance inventory management and reduce food waste across Dollar General's stores. This collaboration would leverage Shelf Engine's technology to optimize ordering processes and improve the freshness of perishable items.Shelf Engine also worked with supermarket and grocery chains Whole Foods, Target, Kroger, Walmart, Ralphs, Harmons, and Bi‑Rite to manage orders and reduce food waste.

Shelf Engine

Afresh began as a research project in 2017 to develop AI-powered software that optimizes the entire food supply chain. Specifically, the company offers an in-store solution for grocery stores that applies artificial intelligence to manage the freshness of food. According to the company, the implementation of its technology has led to a 25%–45% reduction of in-store food waste and increased gross margin of fresh produce sales by 4 percentage points. The company generates revenue under a SaaS model. In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16835">March 2023,</a> the company expanded into fresh departments, including meat, seafood, deli, and food service.As of&nbsp;October 2024, the company’s technology was deployed across 3,000 stores in 40 states in the US and it reported that it was able to triple its customer base in 2021.&nbsp;Afresh also reported that it prevented 44 million lbs of food wastage as of 2024 while reducing 24 million kg of CO2 emissions and saving 886 million gallons of water.Key customers and partnershipsSome of Afresh's key customers include Fresh Thyme Market, WinCo Foods, and Heinen’s. In 2019, the company also reported that it had established partnerships with three US grocery chains, each with more than 100 stores in operation.&nbsp;&nbsp;The company also collaborated with Bashas’ Supermarkets Inc. (a chain of grocery stores based in North America with over 100 stores) in September 2021 and New Season Market (a chain of 19 privately owned grocery stores) in October 2021 to pilot the “Afresh AI-driven software solution” at selected stores.In December 2022, Afresh partnered with SpartanNash to pilot the AI-powered Afresh platform at 10 of SpartanNash’s Family Fare grocery stores.&nbsp;&nbsp;In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15786">January 2023</a>, Afresh and Albertsons Companies announced the completion of an enterprise rollout of the Afresh predictive ordering and inventory management platform.&nbsp;Afresh also partnered with Albertsons Companies again in October 2024 for the launch of Afresh DC Forecasts, where Albertsons was its first customer.

AFresh

Hazel Technologies is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded technology company that develops packaging that releases vapors that slow the aging process and prevent fungus or decay. Its solution is claimed to double the shelf life of produce. Hazel operates a B2B business that targets large enterprises. The company has reported treating&nbsp;5 billion lbs of produce as of October 2024, saving about 4 billion lbs from going bad. The company has a target to save one billion&nbsp;lbs of produce from going to waste by the end of 2021. Hazel operates in&nbsp;13 countries&nbsp;across the US, South America, and Europe, as of October 2024.&nbsp;Hazel works with around 250 food service and produce companies including the likes of Sysco, Mission Produce, Zespri, Calavo, and Oppy.&nbsp;As of October 2024, the company offers Hazel Endure, its antimicrobial packaging for berries, grapes, and other fruit, which uses an anti-fungal pad to extend the shelf life and quality of fruits and other produce.Key customers and partnershipsHazel Technologies has formed several partnerships to reduce food waste and extend the shelf life of various produce. These included collaborations with Mission Produce for avocados in July 2020, Migiva Group for grape trials in March 2021, Specialty Crop Company for figs and Symms Fruit for apples in May 2021, Oppy and Brar Farms for California-grown table grapes in July 2022, and Kliewer Farms for kiwifruit in November 2022.

Hazel Technologies

Startups that prevent food wastage by prolonging the lifetime of food or better managing food production through the supply chain. Companies that develop products such as sanitizers, containers, and machines that allow food to stay fresh longer are included here. Startups that develop algorithms to determine food preservation strategies are also included.

These startups ensure work to reroute surplus food to different sets of end-users including charity organizations and consumers seeking discounted items. This segment mainly consists of on-demand online platforms that connect producers, retailers, and restaurants with consumers via mobile app.

Startups that recycle food waste for industrial uses such as soil enrichment.

Startups that recycle food waste into edible food and beverages.

Solutions that keep food waste out of landfills

Recycling and upcycling food waste to keep them out of landfills

IoT-enabled waste prevention techniques for purposes such as longer shelf-life and inventory management

Waste prevention analysis platforms use AI/ML

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 Winnow, a UK-based company offering AI solutions to reduce food waste, has secured funding from Singapore-based private equity firm ABC Impact. The investment will enable Winnow to expand its food waste solution in commercial kitchens throughout Asia. Winnow asserts that it can cut food waste by 30% within a month of implementation.
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Winnow is present in over 45 countries worldwide and counts leading food service providers among its users. In June 2023, the company secured <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/19493"> USD 10 million in a Series C funding round </a> to develop its AI capabilities.

Winnow Solutions

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