Cambridge Crops rebrands as Mori and raises $12m to address food waste

Food tech company Cambridge Crops has renamed itself as Mori and raised $12m in a Series A funding round to combat food wastage.

Mori’s technology creates a natural protective barrier on a wide range of food items such as whole and cut produce, as well as meat, fish, and processed goods.

The protective barrier is created from silk through a water-based process and claimed to keep food fresher for longer by improving water retention, preventing oxidation and slowing microbial growth.

Mori CEO Adam Behrens said: “We often ask ourselves about what we can enable by extending shelf life. There are major implications across food waste, food access, freight efficiency, food quality, and even the packaging we use. All unlocked with a single, naturally occurring protein.

“We wanted our rebrand to reflect our technology’s origin clearly and honestly. Just like honey bees make honey and beeswax, Bombyx mori make silk.”

The latest funding round was led by Acre Venture Partners.

Besides previous investors The Engine, Refactor Capital, Closed Loop Partners, Blindspot Ventures, and The Fink Family Foundation, the new funding round was joined by new participants, including Prelude Ventures, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust and ACCELR8.

The company intends to use the money to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and develop commercial partnerships in multiple food categories.

Acre managing partner Lucas Mann said: “We’ve been impressed by the progress of the Mori team, and the flexibility of the technology sets them up as a very attractive solution for both food and agriculture companies. Food waste is an extraordinary challenge, both economic and environmental.

“Mori provides natural, well understood and cost-effective solutions across various stages of the supply chain to combat waste.”