USA – Hazel Technologies, a USDA-supported agricultural technology start-up, has raised US$13 million in Series B funding to expand its shelf life-extending solutions.
Led by Pangaea Ventures and S2G Ventures, the Series B funding brings the total capital raised by the firm to US$17.8 million and comes after it secured US$3.3 million last year.
The oversubscribed Series B round also attracted new investors including The Grantham Foundation, Asahi Kasei Ventures, Rhapsody Venture Partners, Serra Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, Climate Impact Capital, and ImpactAssets among others.
Founded in 2015, Hazel’s core technologies revolve around the release of shelf-life-enhancing vapour from sachets placed in boxes of bulk produce by growers at the time of harvest.
The sachets and are said to extend shelf life by up to three times by slowing ageing in produce and preventing fungus or decay.
“This new financing brings in resources, both financial and strategic, that will grow Hazel from its current early commercial stage to become a profitable, world-leading provider of shelf-life extension products,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO of Hazel Technologies.
“We’ve delivered a solution that works both economically and environmentally, increasing efficiencies across the entire supply chain, and now we are able to roll these out to address food spoilage in multi-billion-dollar markets internationally.”
Since 2017, Hazel Technologies has completed more than 100 pilot trials for products such as melons, okra, apricots, avocados and cherries.
According to a Frozen Foods report, Hazel has signed deals and endorsements from many produce companies, including Mission Avocado, Oxnard, Calif., and Frieda’s Inc., Los Alamitos, Calif.
Keith Gillard, general partner, Pangaea Ventures said; “Pangaea is thrilled to lead this financing in Hazel.
“Hazel has a deep understanding of their customers that we rarely see in a startup company. Their drop-in solution for a broad set of supply chain applications will allow Hazel to be a true change maker in food waste reduction across the supply chain.”
Hazel Technologies said that it intends to use the latest funding to grow its main product line, launch new technologies and expand its team.
