The Future of FreshnessTM
Global Fresh Foods Secures $5.3 million Series B Financing; Rabo Ventures and Firelake Capital Lead Round
Growth capital to drive adoption of the company’s SAF-D® System, a controlled atmosphere solution that enables the ocean transport of fresh seafood.
Monterey, CA – April 15, 2011 –Global Fresh Foods announced today that it has secured $5.3 million in Series B financing. New investors Rabo Ventures and Firelake Capital led the round of financing. Global Fresh Foods will use the capital to launch operations and drive adoption of its pioneering SAF-D® System.
SAF-D® (Safe and Fresh Distribution) is a patent-pending controlled atmosphere system employing a unique architecture and oxygen management technology for the all-natural extension of fresh shelf life of seafood and other proteins. The SAF-D® System is the first commercially viable technology to enable the ocean transport of fresh seafood over long distances.
Gorjan Nikolik, industry analyst for food and agribusiness research at Rabobank International, commented, “Global Fresh Foods’ technology is a potential game-changer for the global fresh seafood industry. The increasing demand for fresh and high quality seafood has created an ever growing, multi-billion dollar trade flow of products transported by plane. GFF's service could potentially reverse this trend providing, fresh seafood without the costly and high carbon footprint of air transport. Moreover, GFF's solution has the potential to close the cost gap between frozen and fresh seafood."
“Rabobank’s global footprint and institutional expertise in aquaculture will be of significant value to Global Fresh Foods during this next stage of our company’s development," said Larry Bell, CEO of Global Fresh Foods. "The addition of Firelake Capital as an investor provides further resources and expertise for commercializing our technology and reinforces the potential of our technology to deliver sustainability in freshness."
“Global Fresh Foods is an exciting company that intersects two areas of focus for Rabo Ventures: agribusiness and cleantech. We are excited to have the opportunity to make this investment and look forward to supporting the company with its growth ambitions” said Adam Anders of Rabo Ventures.
Peter Shannon of Firelake Capital added, “Global Fresh Foods' solution is a compelling offering that is easily evaluated and adopted by customers, addresses a very large market, and fits seamlessly into existing supply chain infrastructure. It is exciting to invest in such a creative and experienced team to go forward and grow this business.”
Adam Anders of Rabo Ventures and Peter Shannon of Firelake Capital will join Global Fresh Foods’ Board of Directors.
About Global Fresh Foods
Global Fresh Foods (GFF) provides technology-enabled fresh seafood distribution and inventorying services to the global seafood industry. GFF’s SAF-D® System keeps seafood fresh for up to 30 days for distribution, plus an additional 12-14 days of fresh-shelf life at destination markets. GFF’s shelf-life extending technology enables fresh seafood to be shipped worldwide by ocean freight instead of air freight, delivering significant cost savings for transport and packaging. GFF’s service also reduces CO2 emissions by over 90% and eliminates the need for polystyrene packaging in favor of recycled cardboard. For additional information: www.globalfreshfoods.com
About Rabo Ventures
Rabo Ventures was founded in 2008, by Rabobank Group, to complete the bank's product offering to businesses in the field of sustainability. Rabo Ventures invests in early stage companies that can grow into being future industry leaders in the field of sustainability. Rabo Ventures’ aim is not merely to invest in, but to partner with, early stage companies. Through this partnership, they seek to make the full resources of Rabobank available to help support growth form early revenue start-ups to industry leaders. For additional information: www.raboventures.com
About Firelake Capital
Firelake Capital Management invests in early-stage venture companies focused on clean technology. Firelake seeks “edge technology” companies that have significant technological advances over the status quo. Founded early in 2002, Firelake has $400 million under management and is located in downtown Palo Alto, California. For additional information: www.firelakecapital.com
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AFTER A VERY PERSISTENT EFFORT, GFF RECEIVED TERM SHEETS FROM MULTIPLE VC'S
