Dutch technology transfer firm NSure, an innovative Dutch company based in Wageningen has attracted a new investor to help it realise its aims of internationalisation.

The company is a spin-off from Wageningen University and Research Centre and translates bio-science into practical applications for the agri-food business, using a unique molecular technology to measure and predict a range of quality aspects in fresh fruit and vegetables.

Its patented method has been on sale in Germany, Sweden, Austria, Italy and France, but now founder and ceo Dr Monique van Wordragen wants to go further afield: “ Our customers operate in a global market. European retailers source fresh produce from countries such as Chile, South Africa and New Zealand. In order to provide optimal service to our customers, we want to be able to offer our technology in those regions as well.”

As well as expanding geographically, NSure also wants to develop new tests targeting fresh produce lines where post-harvest quality is hard to control.

Now Madeli Participations is investing in the firm to enable it to realise its international growth strategy and establish lab facilities in major growing regions worldwide, as well as an international sales network. Madeli is owned by the De Ruiter family, well known for three generations for its seed business.

NSure’s measurement method is based on the activity of a set of plant genes. All biological processes in a plant or fresh product are controlled by genes, working as switches. They can be in one of two positions and steer the development in this way. NSure testing reads this biological switchboard of the plant. A profile of the active genes is created in the lab. This provides accurate information on the quality of the batch - for instance, on maturation stage, shelf life or processing quality. Changes that are not measurable using standard methods can be indicated with certainty using an NSure test. It is even possible to predict the quality in downstream chains.

Topics