Hazel Technologies closes $70 million Series C financing
Hazel Technologies, Inc., a USDA-funded agricultural technology company delivering new solutions to combat food waste, today announced the close of a $70 million Series C financing round, bringing the company’s cumulative total raised to over $87 million.
The Series C round was 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 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. 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 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. 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 have helped 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 all major agricultural production areas, expanding into new markets such as Southeast Asia, Africa, the EU, and beyond.
Hazel’s solutions are unique because they are built for both food supply and distribution chains as they currently exist. This key market differentiator has not only fueled Hazel’s penetration into major global markets, but has also helped Hazel lift up farmers and ag economies in developing parts of the world.
“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.
