The United Nations appreciates this About a third Of all the food produced is wasted before it has a chance to decompose in your refrigerator.
These dismal statistics explain one of the main reasons why leading venture capital firms and celebrities are pouring money into companies aimed at preventing food loss in the supply chain. There’s Apeel, which makes a protective coating for products; Shelf Engine, which predicts order volume via artificial intelligence; and Misfits Market, which sells “ugly” produce.
PureSpace is another startup that has started working on tackling this problem. Her team has worked on filtration technology to mitigate food loss in refrigerated trucks and food storage facilities. Filters startup in Busan, South Korea Targeting ethylene in the air.
Bananas, strawberries, avocados, tomatoes and other types of produce naturally emit ethylene as they ripen. When this plant hormone builds up in the air, it can cause nearby fruits and vegetables to age faster.
PureSpace co-founder and CEO Sunyoung Lee told TechCrunch over the phone that the company’s chemists endured four years of “track and error” to develop a catalyst that efficiently breaks down ethylene into carbon dioxide and water, all to prevent premature spoilage. The startup claims that its filters are “50 times stronger than previous technologies” and are removable 99.5% ethylene In refrigerated trucks in just over two hours.
Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 PureSpace currently operates as a subscription-based startup in South Korea. Its technology has been tested with Samsung, Walmart, and several leading grocery stores in South Korea.
Lee told TechCrunch that the company recently raised a $4 million Series A round. Next, it aims to raise a $10 million Series B later this year to fund its US expansion