The International Fresh Produce Association has name the 12 new companies that will join the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator for the 2024 cohort.
The accelerator program is designed to bring technology companies with ready to market solutions to the produce and floral industry to help make the supply chain more resilient and climate smart, according to a news release.
“As we embark on the third year of our program, our first goal is to bring new, innovative solutions into the industry,” Vonnie Estes, IFPA vice president of innovation, said in the release. “We are advancing the trial, adoption and utilization of climate-smart technologies to tackle our most pressing challenges head-on. At the same time, we are cultivating an extraordinary ecosystem of producers, mentors, and innovators committed to sustainability and progress.”
The cohort will come together first in June to take part in Immersion Week where they will visit more than a dozen businesses from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The group will spend almost a week on a bus tour exploring many aspects of the produce supply chain to learn from industry members about their practical challenges and what they need from solution partners.
Following the Immersion Week, the group will come together in August for a Demo Day in Salinas, Calif.
The Demo Day will provide an opportunity for the innovators to share their solutions for the produce industry after spending a few months reflecting on their Immersion Week learnings and time with an industry mentor. Mentors are assigned to each member of the cohort as a go to resource and guide as the participants move through the program. The program culminates at the Global Produce and Floral Show where each accelerator company will showcase its solution on the expo floor.
This year’s cohort includes:
- Agragene Inc. — St. Louis.
- ClearLeaf — Wilmington, Del.
- Farm-ng — Watsonville, Calif.
- Helios Artificial Intelligence Inc. — Tysons, Va.
- Innov8.ag — Walla Walla, Wash.
- L5 Automation Inc. — La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
- Mirai Solar — San Francisco.
- Neolithics LTD. — Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Responsive Drip Irrigation, LLC — Bradenton, Fla., and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- Root Applied Science — Oakland, Calif.
- Sufresca — Ness Ziona, Israel.
- Susterre — Calgary, Ontario.
“I’m excited to introduce our new cohort to the industry and to each other at the upcoming Immersion Week,” Estes said. “It’s amazing to witness the synergy of ideas, tech and problem solving that come from a group of innovators while they visit different businesses along the produce supply chain.”
The Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator is powered by industry members who serve as hosts for the tour visits and mentors who guide the participants, and by a key industry supporter, SunWorld, the release said. Full profiles on the cohort companies and the company representatives embarking on the six-month program are available on the IFPA Fresh Field Catalyst page.
