Elevate Foods, a Singapore-based platform for small- and medium-sized farm-gate processors, has announced the successful closure of its pre-seed funding round at $525,000, led by climate-focused investors Wavemaker Impact (WMi).
The investment will catalyze Elevate Foods’ vision of establishing a globally trusted network for processed agri-produce, Elevate Foods said in a statement.
With this capital infusion, Elevate Foods said the firm is poised to assemble a specialized team focused on sustainable food systems and enhanced quality management tools, while building its footprint across the Gulf and Southeast Asian (SEA) markets.
“We are grateful for the successful completion of our pre-seed funding round with the support of Wavemaker Impact,
“This investment underscores our commitment to building a more sustainable and resilient food ecosystem, facilitating the upgradation of farm-gate processors to enhance their market access,” said Gayatri Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Elevate Foods.
Elevate Foods is a Singapore incorporated company dedicated to revolutionizing global food supply chains.
Focused on combating food loss and waste, the firm empowers small-scale farm-gate food processors across India by providing access to global markets and ensuring compliance with stringent quality standards whilst creating a traceable and sustainable source of produce.
Leveraging technology and market insights to upgrade existing processors, it aims to build a more sustainable and resilient food ecosystem, driving positive change across the globe.
It is noted that the global food supply chain grapples with unprecedented inefficiencies, witnessing alarming levels of food loss and waste.
Nearly one-third of all food produced annually is lost or wasted, translating to a staggering $1 trillion in economic losses.
Enabling more upstream processing of agri-produce, and thus reducing perishability at the farm-gate, emerges as a pivotal lever in addressing food loss.
Despite the growing demand for processed produce globally, buyers remain cautious about the quality standards upheld by smaller food processors.
Elevate Foods’ innovative business model intervenes at the beginning of the supply chain, creating a more sustainable and traceable solution for agri-produce buyers while working with farm-gate manufacturers to upgrade their operations and enforce stringent quality standards.
With a vision to achieve $100 million in revenue and mitigate 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the future, Elevate Foods aims to emerge as a leading food processor in the region, without owning factory assets.
“We see great potential in Elevate Foods’ creative approach of working through developing Indian farm-gate processors to tackle the trillion dollar food waste problem, which is responsible for about 4.5 Gigatonnes of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Equivalent globally,
“By addressing the challenges faced by processors through greater profit-purpose alignment, Elevate Foods is poised to unlock new opportunities that will drive meaningful change in both the agricultural and food processing sectors,” said Quentin Vaquette, Co-Founding Partner at Wavemaker Impact.
“Gayatri’s deep experience across the various food-related sectors, coupled with her passion for climate impact, is a potent combination to realize Elevate Foods’ potential in becoming South Asia’s largest food processing platform for small-to-medium enterprises,” he added.
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