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Apeel raises $250M to become the first anti-foodwaste unicorn

Published on June 10, 2020

Key facts:

  • Apeel, the startup known for its edible “peal” that slows oxidation on produce, notably avocados, has raised $250M
  • As mentioned in another DigitalFoodLab post in 2019, the company is now also active in Europe
  • With this new funding, the company would be the first unicorn startup fighting against foodwaste
  • Among new investors, they are some celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry
  • Appel is not only goodwill for its clients. By avoiding up to 50% of the usual foodwaste, they can up their sales between 5 to 10%

Why it matters – DigitalFoodLab’s opinion:

Apeel is the clear leader of a new generation of startups fighting foodwaste by avoiding its occurrence through the use of (bio)technologies rather than managing soon to be wasted food. It is also an answer to the use of more and more packaging (notably plastics) to improve the shelf life of produce.

This new “unicorn status”, combined with the huge amount of money raised by the company, is a symbol that food waste is no more a purely CSR. Fighting has become economically viable and it may increase the number of entrepreneurs in this field in the next couple of years.

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