Dive Brief:
- Boston-based Spoiler Alert has raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Acre Venture Partners.
- Founded in 2015 by two MIT graduates, the technology company provides an online platform called Marketplace for food donations and the discounted sale of food between businesses and nonprofits. More than 200 organizations in New England have enrolled so far.
- The company also has a subscription-based service called Enterprise that helps businesses get tax deductions for donations. Sysco Corporation, a major food distributor, has announced that it is using this service.
Dive Insight:
Multiple reports have shown the multi-billion dollar cost of waste food in the U.S. and the environmental effects are staggering. This has led more manufacturers and wholesalers to look at how they can change practices upstream, while also opening up opportunities for companies such as Spoiler Alert. The company already had support from the Fink Family Foundation which helped launch ReFED. This funding from Acre means they can now add support from Sam Kass, a former White House chef and senior policy advisor for nutrition, to the list.
Food donation may be a more popular idea now, but it's still hard to do on a large scale. The Food Waste Reduction Alliance's new report cited transportation as the largest barrier to donating or recycling for manufacturers, retailers and restaurants. In addition to Spoiler Alert, other startups such as Food Cowboy and Hungry Harvest have also seen economic potential in expanding infrastructure for donation and recovery.
Though traditional waste and recycling companies may not see a direct role for themselves in this space, some say it's time for all involved to rethink how they can participate in reducing food waste.
