Apeel becomes agtech unicorn with $250M round aimed at reducing food waste
May 27, 2020
Food-waste prevention startup Apeel Sciences has raised $250 million in a round led by GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. The Goleta, Calif.-based company is now valued at north of $1 billion, up from the $420 million valuation it generated with a $70 million round in 2018, according to PitchBook data.
Apeel is the developer of a plant-based coating that can be applied to fruits and vegetables to double or triple their shelf life by reducing water loss and oxidation. The round also received backing from Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rock Creek Group. Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry supported the financing as minority, non-participatory investors.
A 2011 estimate from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that roughly a third of all food in the world goes to waste. And supply-chain disruption from the coronavirus crisis has only worsened the problem. The closures of restaurants, slaughterhouses and food production facilities have led to farmers dumping milk, culling livestock and plowing vegetables back into the soil, according to multiple reports.
Apeel is the developer of a plant-based coating that can be applied to fruits and vegetables to double or triple their shelf life by reducing water loss and oxidation. The round also received backing from Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rock Creek Group. Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry supported the financing as minority, non-participatory investors.
A 2011 estimate from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that roughly a third of all food in the world goes to waste. And supply-chain disruption from the coronavirus crisis has only worsened the problem. The closures of restaurants, slaughterhouses and food production facilities have led to farmers dumping milk, culling livestock and plowing vegetables back into the soil, according to multiple reports.
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