iFoodDs, a startup that provides fresh food supply chain management software, announced today that it has raised a $15 million Series A round of funding led by Insight Partners.
Based in Seattle, Washington, iFoodDS has developed a cloud-based system to give retailers, foodservice chains, processors, shippers, packers and growers more visibility into the fresh food supply chain. The iFoodDS platform helps supply chain constituents to better track food safety, traceability, quality management and transparency.
In May of last year, iFoodDS acquired HarvestMark and its food traceability and quality inspection solutions. Terms of that deal were not disclosed.
iFoodDS’s funding fits into a larger trend around improving supply chain management, and we’ve seen a number of startups tackling this issue from a different angles. Varcode uses temperature sensors and blockchain to validate food as it moves through the cold chain. Earlier this month, Shelf Engine raised $41 million to help retailers better forecast and order fresh food. And the non-profit, GS1 is working with companies like IBM Food Trust and Ripe.io to develop interoperable food traceability systems.
Shortcomings in the U.S. supply chain were laid bare last year as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent panic buying and hoarding left supermarket shelves empty across the country. Enabling better insights into the supply chain not only helps alleviate these types of product outages but can also help reduce food waste. By bringing enhanced management tools to the supply chain, food can be routed to destinations more efficiently, monitored throughout the process, all while ensuring authenticity and quality.
