Few days back many states across India declared extension of lockdowns and these sudden pour of new measures by the state governance has led many of us into panic shopping!

I too stocked up vegetables last week whatever was available at the counter. Some with plastic packaging, some open. Now a week later when I removed some for cooking I noticed that few of the open veggies somehow were unfit for use and had gone stale, while the ones covered in plastic still were good to go.

Just imagine, how many more people around our country might be facing similar issues? Just imagine how many tonnes of waste will be piling up in landfills just because of this utility error. Think about how many more people can be fed, if only we could innovate for longer lasting produce?

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a way to extend the shelf life of perishable items like vegetables and fruits without using plastic?

Well, there should be right, otherwise we wouldn't be recording this episode ;).

Apeel is an AgTech (a startup that combines agriculture and technology) that developed a substance, transparent and flavourless, to protect fruits and vegetables. The idea is to cover fresh products with a second “skin”, a peel that allows to double or triple their life. This substance reduces the loss of water and the oxidation of the products, slowing their maturation and extending their expiry date.

For growers, suppliers, and retailers, Apeel is a post harvest solution that creates an optimal microclimate inside every piece of produce, which leads to extended shelf life and transportability —with reduced reliance on refrigeration and controlled atmosphere.

Apeel’s technology has the potential to reduce losses by;

1) enabling more produce to reach markets in the absence of the cold chain; 

2) reducing retail and consumer waste by providing more time to consume the produce at its ripe condition.

By reducing loss and waste throughout the produce supply chain, the Apeel technology can effectively increase yields across the supply chain, simultaneously reducing the embodied emissions and resource consumption associated with that otherwise wasted food.

Did you know 19% of all avocados on grocery store shelves never get purchased? Even sadder, 25% of the avocados that we do bring home still end up in the trash.

This "second skin" has already reduced waste by more than half in supermarkets that have sprayed it on their apples, asparagus and lemons.

Apeel has recently raised $250 M dollars in a round of investments, becoming a real “unicorn”. Most of them came from investors like Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, and Rock Creek Group. Few other noteworthy supporters of Apeel are Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oprah Winfrey, and Katy Perry.

Hope you enjoy listening to this episode and if you are aware of similar groundbreaking technologies in India, then please share it with us on [email protected]

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