In today’s struggling food waste and sustainability world, Apeel Sciences presents itself as a new exciting startup with relevance and vision. Starting in 2012 with James Rogers, Apeel Sciences is a tech-based company determined to provide solutions to food wastage and add shelf life to fresh produce. The company has attracted international interest on account of its innovative strategy to address one of the biggest challenges of the modern world.
About the Founder: James Rogers
Currently, the founder, and CEO of Apeel Sciences is Dr James Rogers, an illustrious and highly skilled Ph.D. holder in Materials Science, University of California, Santa Barbara. His journey into the world of sustainable food preservation began with a simple yet profound observation: Vegetables that are grown to have thicker skins take longer time to spoil. It prompted him to look for a solution to the problem of food spoilage in nature’s design. He has transformed Apeel Sciences from what began as a university research project into an international company fighting food waste on all fronts.
It appears that sustainability is not only important to Rogers on the job but in his everyday life as well. He has given many speeches on the ethical and economical perspective of food wastage, and the journey of how he started developing Apeel which is much influenced by his upbringing and educational background. He has also encouraged many youths to look at new innovative ways of approaching the most natural problems that are facing societies today.
The Problem: Food Waste on a Global Scale
Waste of food is a major issue for the people around the globe. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that about one-third of all food is wasted internationally. These have implications on loss-making opportunities both monetary and non-monetary such as environmental impacts such as greenhouse gases. These commodities are very vulnerable especially perishable ones such as fruits and vegetables, which tend to go bad before reaching the end user.
On an economic level, food waste is estimated to shift nearly one trillion US Dollars every year. Apart from financial damage, the environmental costs remain exceedingly high. A landfill site full of rotten food emits Methane a very bad gas that accelerates the process of global warming. But it is key here to realize that Apeel’s mission squarely overlaps with responding to all these crises.
The Solution: This paper aims to discuss in detail the natural protective barrier provided by Apeel sciences.
Apeel Sciences has created a plant-derived approach to reduce food waste and keep produce fresh for much longer. Their principal product is an edible barter in the form of a coating obtained from natural plant material. Some of these coatings form an invisible shield that helps to reduce the rates of oxidation and water loss, factors that cause most foods to spoil. Through the use of this additional layer of defense, Apeel can elongate the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables without any reference to cold climates.
How It Works
However, the scientific logic behind Apeel sciences cannot be beat, it is as simple as it is effective. It is formed from lipids and glycerolipids which are available in peels, seeds, and the pulp of many plants. These components put a layer around the produce thus limiting the rates of moisture loss and oxidation. The result? The shelf life of fruits and vegetables is increased to 2-3 days, in some cases up to 2-3 weeks compared to produce treated with conventional methods or without any treatment at all.
The technology developed by Apeel Sciences is flexible and combinable with any type of fruit and vegetable including avocados, oranges, cucumbers, and berries. A key strategic advantage of EDI is that it has readily been adopted by retailers and suppliers across the globe.
General Information About Apeel Sciences
Inspiration from Nature: Apeel’s technology is named this way owing to James Rogers who noticed that fruits with a natural protective skin such as avocados and oranges are not spoiled as quickly as those without skins.
Recognition and Awards: It has attracted many accolades, among them a membership of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions.
Global Impact: Currently, fruits treated by Apeel are preferred by retailers since they result in shrink rates (spoilage) of more than 50%.
Open Source Roots: The company first started by employing a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to research solutions to the problem of food spoiling in developing nations.
Global Reach: Apeel sciences currently operates in over 30 countries and is expected to expand in other new markets within the emerging markets.
Financial Highlights
Turnover: Apeel Sciences’ annual turnover is likely to be in the hundreds of millions since it has engaged in large retail and global distribution of its products.
Investors: The firm announced having raised funds from star investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Viking Global Investors, and GIC, a sovereign wealth fund for Singapore. Having raised over $700 million, Apeel sciences is ready for further growth.
Stock Market Status: For the time being, the company is still formatted under a private organization, going by the name Apeel Sciences. Though there have been talks about the future possibilities of the company going for an IPO or having an IPO, the firm has not come out clearly on when it is likely to do so.
Competitors
Apeel Sciences acts amidst closely related industries where some other firms also aim to problem solve the food waste and prolong fruit and vegetable shelf life. Notable competitors include:
Hazel Technologies: This is a Chicago-born and founded startup that creates sachets that emit compounds that prolong the shelf life of produce. The solutions that they provide are affordable and can be easily embedded into pre-existing supply chain systems.
StixFresh: A Malaysia-based firm with an app offering a sticker that uses organic solutions to extend the ripening time of fruits. Their strategies may be plain but they are exquisite, and these strategies are starting to catch on in smaller markets.
Bluapple: A depolymerized biodegradable polymer meant for curbing the generation of ethylene gas in produce preservation and thus delay ripening. Favored by the consumer on the actual basis of being cheap and very easy to use.
Save Foods: Highly concerned about spoilage and food-borne pathogens this company is gradually gaining recognition for its food protection and waste management strategies.
Despite these competitors, with different and new methods in response, Apeel’s exclusivity innovation of plant-based coating and robust capital make it well-positioned to compete in the market.
Impact on Sustainability
Apeel’s technology has far-reaching implications for sustainability:
Reduction in Food Waste: In this way, Apeel increases the shelf life of the fruit, and consequently reduces the spoilage all through the entire value chain: from farmers, supermarkets, and individual consumers.
Decreased Carbon Footprint: Fewer resources (water, energy, and land) are used in growing food which is, in turn, thrown away because there is less food waste.
Enhanced Food Security: Extended fresh shelf-life means that the produce can move over larger distances, thus bringing fresh fruits and vegetables that were earlier unattainable to different areas.
Industry Adoption and Growth
Apeel, from the start of its operation, has administered agreements with significant retailers and suppliers across the world, of which are Kroger, Edeka, and Costco. They have also shown their technical strategies work by proving convincing to customers and businesses alike. It has also managed to source capital and has received more than $ 700 million from venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Challenges and the Road Ahead
That’s why Apeel has become such a phenomenon: it has changed the way produce is handled and consumed To find out about some of the issues that Apeel’s creators grapple with, such as how to replicate its smart technology on a worldwide basis and how to mediate through the various regulatory systems of the world’s nations. The task of convincing customers, suppliers, and partners at large about the value of the firm’s technology is also a challenge. Even so, it is a vast opportunity as there is increasing global awareness of climate change and the consequent call for eco-friendly products.
Conclusion
Apen Sciences is a good example of how innovation can help respond to global challenges that have a positive impact on businesses and consumers. In addition to the fight against food waste, the company can ensure better utilization of fresh products and contribute to an equitable and sustainable food chain. With different countries now focusing on making their countries green as well as sustainable, Apeel Sciences is an example of what science brings when its aim is noble.
