Hazel raises funding to continue growth of main product line

USDA-funded start-up company Hazel Technologies has raised $13m in a Series B funding round in an effort to continue the growth of its main product line and launch new technologies.

The company focuses on delivering solutions to curb food wastage. The latest funding brings its cumulative total raised to $17.8m.

The funding round was led by Pangaea Ventures, a global advanced materials venture capital firm and investment company Seed to Growth (S2G) Ventures that focuses on the food supply chain from soil to shelf.

Hazel Technologies CEO Aidan Mouat said: “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.

“We’ve delivered a solution that works both economically and environmentally, increasing efficiencies across the entire supply chain, and now we can roll these out to address food spoilage in multi-billion dollar markets internationally.”

New investors who participated in the funding round include The Grantham Foundation Serra Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, Climate Impact Capital, ImpactAssets and Asahi Kasei Ventures, which joined the returning investors Rhapsody Venture Partners.

Additionally, the company intends to expand its workforce using the latest funding.

Pangaea Ventures general partner Keith Gillard said: “Hazel has a deep understanding of their customers that we rarely see in a start-up 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.”

Established in 2015, Hazel is engaged in the production of shelf-life enhancing vapour from sachets.

The sachets are placed within the boxes of bulk produce by growers at the time of harvest to extend the shelf-life of produce by slowing down the ageing process, thereby preventing fungus or decay.