Even Nutjobs can be winners.
I am not speaking of your everyday lunatic but a company of that name, which won a record $6 million grant from Western Growers’ BB #:144734 AgSharks at WGA’s annual convention in Las Vegas.
“Nutjobs transforms nutshell waste into bio-benign plastic alternative products that are bio-based, compostable and derived from secondary agricultural waste. By transforming nutshell waste into bio-benign plastics, Nutjobs creates plastic substitutes that are cost effective and environmentally sustainable,” reports WGA.
Nutjobs was chosen at the WG Pitch Competition, which is designed to devise “new technology solutions to solve agriculture’s most pressing issues.”
The $6 million equity investment came from S2G Ventures, a Chicago-based venture capital firm.
In addition to investment capital, Nutjobs will receive “international recognition, mentoring from WG and S2G, potential access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies and exposure to WG’s expansive network of leading fresh produce companies,” says a WG press release.
Nutjobs’ mission, as stated on its website: “To transform nutshell waste into bio-benign plastic alternative products that are bio-based, compostable and derived from secondary agricultural waste. By transforming nutshell waste into bio-benign plastics, we are creating plastic substitutes that are cost effective and environmentally sustainable.”
The other two finalists in the competition were:
En Solucion, which works in the agtech sector to improve food safety through development of novel methods for cleaning and sanitizing. Current projects include “exploring nanotechnology to replace traditional postharvest chlorine wash.”
SWAN Systems, which has a “configurable water and nutrient management software” that helps growers decide how much and when to irrigate; enabling them to apply only what is needed for optimal plant growth.
which has a “configurable water and nutrient management software” that helps growers decide how much and when to irrigate; enabling them to apply only what is needed for optimal plant growth.
The AgSharks Pitch Competition, launched in 2017, has supported other successful startups, such as Hazel Technologies, which uses sachets to extend the shelf life of produce by as much as three times. To date, Hazel has raised over $87.8 million in funding.
