Hazel Technologies has unveiled expansion plans for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, including a new office in Singapore.
The USDA-funded ag-tech company – which delivers solutions for fresh produce to extend shelf-life, increase sales and fight food waste – has also received fresh funding from an Asia-based investor.
With some product lines already fully commercial in APAC countries such as New Zealand, Hazel Technologies’ new planned presence in Singapore gives the company a foothold in one of the region’s most strategic supply locations.
To further jumpstart Asia operations, Hazel Technologies recently began hiring APAC-based employees full time to lay the foundation for R&D, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution in the region.
“It is estimated that food waste is responsible for at least 8 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, which is an absolutely startling number,” said Aidan Mouat, chief executive of Hazel Technologies.
“APAC is home to the largest population and largest food system of any region in the world. By integrating our waste-reducing technologies into more global supply chains we will continue to dramatically reduce those harmful impacts, and this APAC expansion is a critical step in that direction.”
EDBI, a Singapore-based global investor in select high growth technology sectors and other strategic industries, has announced it is investing in Hazel Technologies.
Chu Swee Yeok, chief executive and president of EDBI, said Hazel Technologies was a leader in developing new solutions to combat food waste, a major problem in the APAC region.
“The fragmented, cross-border nature of fresh produce supply chains across South-East Asia is a key contributor to food waste from spoilage, and Hazel Technologies’ innovative drop-in solutions for shelf-life extension are a game-changer for the industry,” Swee Yeok explained.
“EDBI’s partnership with the company will drive expansion of its suite of solutions to new high-growth markets in Asia, while developing capabilities in Singapore and contributing to our 30-by-30 food security and zero waste goals.”
Founded in 2015, Hazel Technologies' solutions revolve around the release of active, shelf-life enhancing vapor from packaging inserts called sachets. The sachets are placed in cartons of bulk produce by growers at the time of harvest, extending the shelf-life of produce up to three times by slowing aging in produce and slowing fungus or decay.
