US start-up Afresh Technologies has raised $13 million in Series A extension funding led by Food Retail Ventures.
San Francisco-based Afresh has developed what it claims is the first fresh food optimisation platform for grocers powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Afresh’s AI-driven solutions reportedly enable grocers to optimise merchandising, ordering and operations for fresh food departments.
The company claims that on average, stores using Afresh reduce food waste by 25% or more and see 2-4% top line revenue growth.
As well as Food Retail Ventures, Afresh’s Series A extension was also backed by existing investors Innovation Endeavors, Maersk Growth and Baseline Ventures.
“I believe that the fresh ordering technology that Afresh has pioneered is set to become one of the most important technologies in food retail,” said James McCann, CEO of Food Retail Ventures, who is joining Afresh’s board of directors.
“The improvements to freshness, sales, shrink, labour and, as a consequence, profitability, are truly transformational and every grocery store around the world — large and small — should be using Afresh. I’m thrilled to increase my backing of the team and look forward to working closely with them as they continue to grow.”
Matt Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of Afresh, added: “We headed into 2020 with some incredible momentum from early customer partnerships and validation of our technology. As the pandemic set in earlier this year, we were proud of how well our product helped fresh departments adapt during these unpredictable times.
“In addition, we’re seeing enormous demand from new customers. So, when industry veterans and inside tech investors came to us and asked if they could double-down on Afresh, we quickly said yes. This new capital will enable us to grow faster and bigger in 2021, thereby accelerating our mission of reducing food waste while making fresh, nutritious food accessible to all.”
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