CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Hazel Technologies, Inc., a USDA-funded agricultural technology company delivering new solutions to combat food waste, today announced that it had finalized documentation relating to a $70 million Series C financing round, which will bring the company’s cumulative total raised to over $87 million.
The Series C round is co-led by Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund (Pontifax AgTech), and Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore.
The oversubscribed Series C round has also attracted new and returning investors S2G Ventures, Pangea Ventures, Rhapsody Venture Partners, Asahi Kasai Ventures, Jordan Park Group, and the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Foundation.
Founded in 2015, Hazel Technologies’ flagship products deliver a controlled release of shelf-life enhancing vapor from packaging inserts called sachets.
The sachets are placed in boxes of bulk produce by commercial growers at the time of harvest, extending the shelf-life of produce up to three times by slowing aging in produce and preventing decay.
“If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas contributor on the planet, behind the US and China,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO of Hazel Technologies.
“Since the very beginning at Hazel Tech, we have focused on developing technologies that easily integrate with the existing supply chain to reduce waste. We believe this financing will allow us to commercialize our successful solutions holistically from producers to consumers on a global scale.”
In 2021, Hazel projects its supply chain solutions will be used with over 6.3 billion pounds of fresh produce, preventing more than 500 million pounds from going to waste. By the end of 2021, Hazel projects it will have saved nearly 1 billion pounds of produce from going to waste since its founding.
“Pontifax AgTech is thrilled to co-lead the Series C investment in Hazel Technologies and partner with management to drive the next phase of growth,” commented Pontifax AgTech Vice President Tim Bluth.
“The Company’s novel solutions reduce food waste across the supply chain, and dramatically broaden access to quality, perishable foods for retailers and consumers worldwide. By addressing inefficiencies in the supply chain, we expect to realize positive environmental and economic impacts on our food system, a key thematic focus for Pontifax AgTech.”
“Truly, this is a world-changing idea because food waste is not just a human tragedy but an environmental tragedy, adding gigatons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year,” said Jeremy Grantham, Trustee of Grantham Environmental Trust.
“In the next century, as food demand continues to grow, agricultural resources become more stressed, and climate change accelerates, solving food waste will become critical. We believe Hazel’s technologies will be an integral part of that global solution.”
Named one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas for 2020, Hazel’s innovative solutions position it to help many of the world’s largest agribusinesses dramatically reduce food waste and secure bigger profits. With its new funding, Hazel intends to build global operations in major agricultural production areas, expanding into new markets such as Southeast Asia, Africa, the EU, and beyond.
We believe that Hazel’s solutions are unique because they are built for both food supply and distribution chains as they currently exist.
“Hazel’s products stand out. They require no additional infrastructure, expensive machinery or training of staff. Use of the inserts is simple and low cost. Together with the superb efficacy in keeping produce fresh, this makes Hazel a winner with growers, packers, and retailers all over the world,” said Carsten Boers, Managing Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners.
Currently, Hazel is working with more than 160 companies across 12 countries. Some of Hazel’s customers include Mission Avocado, the world’s largest distributor of fresh avocados; Zespri, the world’s biggest kiwifruit distributor; and Oppy, Canada’s largest produce distributor.
About Hazel Technologies, Inc.
Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new solutions to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce and reduce food waste. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech® services over 160 of the world’s largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers. Selected as a Finalist for Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas and winner of “Best Sustainable Packaging” at the 2020 World Food Innovation Awards, the company’s patent-pending technologies have been tested by top academic research programs including UC Davis, Cornell University, and Oregon State University. In 2021, Hazel is on track to be used with over 6.3 billion pounds of fresh produce, preventing more than 500 million pounds from going to waste. For more information, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com.
About Pontifax AgTech
Founded in 2013, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Pontifax AgTech is a growth capital investor in food and agriculture technology. The firm invests globally in established businesses with proven technologies that improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability in the food and agriculture supply chain, as well as nutrition and health. Portfolio companies include Hazel Technologies, AgBiome, The Bouqs, FoodlogiQ, Anuvia, Pairwise, Tropic Biosciences, Precision Bioscience, Caribou Biosciences, Provivi, and Conservis. Pontifax AgTech currently manages $480 million in assets. For more information, visit www.pontifaxagtech.com.
About Temasek
Temasek is an investment company with a net portfolio value of S$306 billion (US$214 billion) as of 31 March 2020. Its investment direction is shaped by structural trends: longer lifespans, rising affluence and sustainable living drive social progress, enabled by technological solutions for sharing economies, smarter systems and a more connected world. Temasek actively seeks sustainable solutions to address present and future challenges, while capturing investment and other opportunities that help to bring about a better, smarter and more sustainable world. Temasek is headquartered in Singapore, with 11 offices around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore in Asia; and London, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Mexico City, and São Paulo, outside Asia. For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg.
About Rhapsody Venture Partners
Rhapsody is a lead investor and co-creator of startups in the hard sciences. Leveraging technical fluency and a far-reaching industry network, Rhapsody partners with scientific founders and accelerates successful commercialization of hard tech innovations. Rhapsody is based in Cambridge, MA. For more information on Rhapsody Venture Partners, please visit www.rhapsodyvp.com.
About the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Foundation
The Grantham Family established the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in 1997. The Foundation supports communication and collaboration in environmental protection, with an emphasis on climate change. Both environmental advocacy and applied research into climate solutions are vital and rely mainly on philanthropic and governmental funding. We make grants to journalists, NGOs, and scientists to drive advocacy and research. The world also needs innovation and commercialization of new technologies. Along with environmental philanthropy, we make investments in entrepreneurs and firms building green industries and systems. For more information, visit www.granthamfoundation.org.
