Today's Food Waste Reality: Approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted annually, accounting for nearly 30% of all the food produced worldwide. Economically, the annual cost of food waste amounts to around $1 trillion. Socially, it exacerbates food scarcity and distribution issues, as one-third of all food produced goes to waste.
AI can help reduce food waste; it's essential to examine the food lifecycle, which consists of five main steps: production, processing, distribution, retailing, and consumption.
Top 20+ players are:
Phood (USA)
Provides AI-enabled food waste prevention solutions for kitchens. It uses computer vision to identify waste products and analyze the root causes of food waste. CEO: Luc Dang
TotalCtrl (NO)
TotalCtrl is a Norwegian company that provides innovative solutions for inventory management and food waste reduction in the hospitality industry. Their flagship product is an app designed for restaurants and hotels that significantly improves efficiency in inventory counting and helps reduce food waste. TotalCtrl has recently partnered with Halla, an AI company, to leverage AI technology to help the food industry become more sustainable. CEO: Charlotte Aschim
ReGrained (USA)
This company focuses on upcycling food waste into new products. They use AI to optimize their processes and improve the efficiency of upcycling food waste into nutritious ingredients. CEO: Daniel Kurzrock Journey Foods (USA)
This company offers a portfolio of intelligence and lifecycle-management software for food development and innovation, leveraging AI to enhance food sustainability and reduce waste. CEO: Riana Lynn
HowGood (USA)
A research company and software-as-a-service data platform with the world's largest database on food product sustainability. They use AI to help food companies improve their sustainability practices. CEO: Alexander Gillett
Matriark Foods (USA)
Founded in 2018, Matriark Foods upcycles farm surplus and fresh vegetable remnants into products for food service, retail, and food banks. To support its upcycling efforts, it has developed a new supply chain. CEO: Anna Hammond
Kaffe Bueno (DE)
Upcycles coffee waste into active and functional ingredients for cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. CEO: Juan Pablo Medina
Orbem (GE)
Orbem is a German deep-tech company that uses AI-powered magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to scan and analyze biological samples across various industries, focusing on food processing and agriculture. They have developed "The Genus" technology that combines accelerated MRI with advanced deep learning algorithms to scan, classify, and sort items like eggs, nuts, seeds, and plants. In the poultry industry, their technology can detect the fertility status and sex of eggs, preventing the waste of over 10 billion unfertilized eggs annually. CEO: Pedro Gómez
Winnow (UK)
Based in London, Winnow uses computer vision and AI to track food waste in commercial kitchens. Their technology involves photographing discarded food and using the images to train the machine to recognize what has been thrown away. This helps kitchens reduce food waste by up to 50% by providing insights to drive changes in production processes. CEO: Marc Zornes
Leanpath (USA)
LeanPath's technology helps commercial kitchens reduce food waste by tracking and analyzing food waste data. Their system measures and records food waste during preparation, cooking, and servicing and then provides recommendations for reducing waste. Their management technology also includes a digital platform that allows kitchen staff to track their progress in real time, set goals, and share best practices with their team members. Using Leanpath's technology, commercial kitchens can reduce their food waste by up to 50%, saving money and reducing their environmental impact. CEO: Andrew Shakman
Hungryroot (USA)
This New York-based startup uses AI to deliver precise portions to users, reducing food waste. Their technology curates food experiences based on customer preferences, allergies, health goals, and cooking habits, leading to an 80% reduction in food waste at their facilities compared to traditional supermarkets. CEO: Ben McKean
Kickstart AI (NL)
As part of the Kickstart AI initiative, Ahold Delhaize led a Food Waste Reduction Challenge to improve demand forecasting models. This initiative, which included collaboration with ING, KLM, and NS, resulted in a 26% improvement in demand forecasting accuracy and a 21% reduction in food waste at Delhaize, Belgium. CEO: Sander Stomph
3D Essence Food (SP)
Essence Food is a Spanish food technology company dedicated to innovation in the gastronomic industry. It researches, develops, and implements the latest trends and technologies to improve food processes from cultivation to consumption, with the goal of creating a more sustainable and smart future for gastronomy. EssenceFood uses AI-powered analytics to track food waste and optimize its freeze-drying processes. By providing data-driven, technology-enabled solutions, Essence Food is helping the food and beverage industry address supply chain issues, maintain product quality, and minimize waste across the value chain. CEO: Marcio Edgar Jacinto Barradas
Orbisk (NL)
Orbisk uses AI image recognition technology to help professional kitchens in restaurants, hotels, and catering reduce food waste by 50% on average. Their automated food waste monitor identifies what ingredients are thrown away, their quantity, and the time of day. This data is used to optimize kitchen processes and purchasing to prevent waste. CEO: Olaf van der Veen
OneThird (NL)
OneThird uses AI and computer vision to analyze the freshness of fruits and vegetables. Their technology can predict the remaining shelf life of produce with 85% accuracy. This helps retailers and consumers reduce food waste by only buying what they need and using produce before it spoils. CEO: Marco Snikkers
Spoiler Alert (USA)
Spoiler Alert provides software to help food businesses manage unsold inventory and surplus food. Their platform connects companies with food banks, farms, and other outlets to donate or sell excess food before it spoils. Spoiler Alert's data analytics also help users forecast demand and reduce waste proactively. CEO: Ricky Ashenfelter
Afresh Technologies (USA)
Afresh develops AI-powered demand forecasting and inventory management solutions for grocery retailers. Their technology uses machine learning to predict demand and optimize ordering, reducing food waste and out-of-stocks. Afresh partners with grocers like Fresh Thyme and Heinen's. CEO: Matt Schwartz and Nathan Fenner
Copia (IL)
Copia is a food recovery platform that connects businesses with surplus food to nonprofits that can redistribute it to those in need. Their technology matches food donations, schedules pickups, and provides analytics to help companies track their impact. So far, Copia has recovered over 100 million pounds of food. Managing Partner: Eyal Cohen
Flashfood (CA)
Flashfood is a mobile app that allows grocery retailers to sell surplus food at steep discounts. Shoppers can browse deals on items nearing their best-by date and purchase directly through the app for pickup in-store. Flashfood keeps millions of pounds of food out of landfills each year. CEO: Nicholas Bertram
Wasteless AI (IL)
Wasteless provides dynamic pricing solutions for grocery retailers to reduce food waste. Their AI-powered system automatically adjusts prices on perishable items based on expiration dates. This encourages customers to buy items closer to their best-by date, preventing waste at the retail level. CEO: Oded Omer
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