The Netherlands-based OneThird, an AI-powered foodtech startup working to prevent food loss and food waste, announced on Thursday that it has secured €2.75M in a late-Seed round of funding.
With this, the company’s total raised capital comes to €5.75M to date.
The latest round was led by Dutch-based impact investor Pymwymic (an acronym for “Put Your Money Where Your Meaning Is Community”), with participation from existing investors Halma Ventures Limited, SHIFT Invest, and Oost NL.
Pymwymic has launched two SDG-focused impact funds. Pymwymic’s Healthy Ecosystems Impact Fund I, closed in 2021, has nine portfolio companies that build solutions to preserve and restore our ecosystems.
The second fund, Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund II, supports change-making entrepreneurs transforming the food system from “farm to fork”. Pymwymic has invested in OneThird through its second fund.
Sophie Pickering, Investment Manager at Pymwymic, says, “Increasing food security is key to supporting a growing global population. We’re excited by the possibilities OneThird’s technology presents in tackling the alarming quantities of global food loss across the supply chain.”
Capital utilisation
OneThird says the funds will help scale the company’s AI-powered technology and operations to expand to new markets, as well as support fresh produce supply chains in North America and Europe.
In order to correctly forecast the shelf life of food throughout the supply chain, the company looks to reach as many farmers, distributors, and retailers as possible. Its aim is to tackle the $1T in yearly food waste that occurs because of spoilage.
Marco Snikkers, Founder of OneThird, says, “The funding will allow us to accelerate the implementation of OneThird’s technology beyond our initial customer base, expand internationally and increase the impact we can create for our customers to help them generate higher ROI, and also meet their sustainability and ESG goals.”
What does OneThird offer?
Food wastage is regarded by the UN as one of the main obstacles to sustainable development. Up to one-third of the food that is delivered to market each year is lost and 40 per cent of that food is fresh vegetables.
Despite the fact that produce can deteriorate in a matter of days, it is often carried over long distances.
This is where OneThird looks to make a difference.
Founded in 2019 by Marco Snikkers, OneThird’s AI-powered near-infrared scanning technology allows farmers, food distributors, merchants, and customers to correctly forecast fresh produce shelf life and reduce food waste.
The company claims that its technology can eradicate up to 25 per cent of waste throughout the produce supply chain by providing partners with real-time information to help in decision-making.
These decisions include maximising best-before dates, choosing to send closer to home or over a shorter shipping distance to preserve shelf life, or redirecting produce that would otherwise spoil by making smoothies, dry frozen goods, soups, and other items out of it.
Currently, the technology supports and forecasts the shelf life of tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and avocados, and will expand to ten kinds of products by late 2023, including grapes, bananas, mangoes, and raspberries.
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