Apeel
Apeel Sciences produces an innovative plant-based fruit and vegetable coating, improving the shelf-life of numerous kinds of fresh produce and dramatically reducing waste along the supply chain
Founded in 2012, Apeel Sciences' mission is reducing the food waste traditionally incurred along the fresh produce supply chain, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process. The company creates a unique, odorless and tasteless plant-based protective coating that adds an extra “peel” to fruits and vegetables, to slow the rate of oxidation and moisture loss, the primary causes of spoilage. Apeel-Protected produce lasts longer, helping to prevent food waste, and thereby conserving resources and avoiding unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions.
The company's fruit and vegetable coating, Apeel, is made of purified monoglycerides and diglycerides - safe, edible plant oils naturally present in a number of foods. Health Canada, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have all declared these substances safe to eat.
Apeel can be applied to a number of fruits and vegetables, including avocados, cucumbers, mandarins, oranges, limes, mangoes, lemons and grapefruit. Additionally, Apeel products are non-GMO and include no animal-derived inputs. The product also does not contain wheat, soybean, corn, nuts, sulfites, or inputs from milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, or crustacea.
Traditionally, for every 10 pieces of fruit we eat, 19 need to be grown, with 9 pieces of fruit going to waste along the supply chain.
Mission
Increasing the shelf life of fresh produce to reduce supply chain waste and curb greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture
Industry: Agriculture
Year founded: 2012
Headquarters: Goleta, California, USA
Number of employees: 400+
In 2011, the UN FAO estimated that one third of all food produced globally is either lost or wasted. This amounts to 1.3 billion metric tons of food every year.
Fruits and vegetables have some of the highest waste rates: over 40% of all fresh produce is lost or wasted. Food waste is also responsible for 8-10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
