Freshr has successfully completed an oversubscribed seed funding round for its innovative antimicrobial coating designed for recycled, recyclable, and compostable fresh fish packaging. This solution aims to extend shelf life, minimize waste, and reduce costs. According to Freshr, global food waste contributes to $2.6 trillion in annual economic losses and accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: PackagingEurope

In response to this challenge, Freshr has applied an advanced, naturally-derived antimicrobial coating to its FreshrPack Sheet, Roll, and Bag film formats. This technology can be chemically immobilized into post-consumer recycled, recyclable, and compostable materials, which are provided in rolls for easier implementation compared to traditional modified atmosphere packaging.

FreshrPack materials are specifically designed to slow down bacterial and chemical spoilage while preventing water loss in fresh protein products, starting with fish. They are believed to extend shelf life by 15% to 30% - for instance, the FreshrPack Bio-Active Film can keep salmon fresh for an additional 2 to 4 days - while also reducing waste by 50% and capturing approximately $37 annually.

It is extremely validating that this round was oversubscribed. We recognize the impact and influence of these investors and acknowledge the immense value in having investors who share our drive for global impact. They are critical to the company’s strategic growth.

^{Freshr’s CEO and founder, Mina Mekhail}

Unlike conventional coatings and diffusion technologies, FreshrPack is not classified as a food additive, thereby eliminating the need for disclosure on product labels. The High OTR film complies with stringent FDA requirements.

Moreover, the FreshrPack Roll and Bag products are reported to be entirely biodegradable in industrial composting facilities.

The recent seed funding round attracted investments from Diamond Edge Ventures, Nàdarra Ventures, BDC’s Climate Tech Fund, and Blue Tide Capital Ventures, along with a third investment from Invest Nova Scotia.

Food waste and food insecurity are pressing global challenges, and tackling them is central to Nàdarra’s investment thesis. Freshr’s naturally derived active packaging technology significantly extends the shelf life of high-value proteins, ensuring safer, fresher food while reducing waste at every stage of the supply chain.

^{Malcolm Fraser, managing partner of Nàdarra Ventures}

Freshr intends to allocate these funds to enhance its manufacturing processes, broaden its global reach, convert existing partnerships into early revenue, and bolster its team’s business and engineering expertise.

In a related development, OSY Group has announced trials of its flagship antimicrobial technology, Xtend, across four continents. This solution employs microscopic pins on packaging surfaces to puncture and eliminate microbes, aimed at increasing the shelf life of fresh produce and reducing food waste.

More than one third of all fresh proteins are wasted, either in transport or on retail shelves. With Freshr’s innovative, low-cost, and drop-in antibacterial coating and active packaging technology, it can reduce spoilage of fresh proteins across the supply chain, thereby reducing the amount of organic waste. By minimizing food waste, Freshr is helping to build a better and more sustainable food chain.

^{Matt Stanley from BDC’s Climate Tech Fund}

Additionally, DS Smith has introduced a seafood box made of corrugated board called DryPack, designed to keep fish fresh at temperatures below 40°F (~4.44°C) for over 40 hours during cold chain operations while also lowering costs and CO2 emissions. Its ‘patented and proven’ Greencoat technology is USDA, CFIA, FDA, and FBA-certified, and this packaging is reportedly the only containerboard seafood box approved for air freight by the International Air Transport Association for long-distance shipping.