Hazel Technologies, Inc., a Chicago-based, USDA-supported agricultural technology company, announced $13 million in Series B funding, bringing the company's cumulative total raised to $17.8 million. The Series B round was led by Pangaea Ventures, Canada, and S2G Ventures, Chicago. The oversubscribed Series B round also attracted new investors The Grantham Foundation, Boston, and Asahi Kasei Ventures, Tokyo, Japan, who join returning investors Rhapsody Venture Partners, Cambridge, Mass.; Serra Ventures, Champaign, Ill.; Valley Oak Investments, San Francisco; Climate Impact Capital, Houston, Texas; ImpactAssets, Bethesda, Md., and more.

"Pangaea is thrilled to lead this financing in Hazel," says Keith Gillard, general partner, Pangaea Ventures. "Hazel has a deep understanding of their customers that we rarely see in a startup company. Their drop-in solution for a broad set of supply chain applications will allow Hazel to be a true change maker in food waste reduction across the supply chain."

Hazel's core technologies revolve around the release of active, shelf-life enhancing vapor from packaging inserts called sachets, which are placed in boxes of bulk produce by growers at the time of harvest, projected to extend shelf life up to three times by slowing aging in produce and preventing fungus or decay.

Hazel has signed deals and endorsements from many produce companies, including Mission Avocado, Oxnard, Calif., and Frieda's Inc., Los Alamitos, Calif.

"This new financing brings in resources, both financial and strategic, that will grow Hazel from its current early commercial stage to become a profitable, world-leading provider of shelf life extension products," says Aidan Mouat, chief executive officer of Hazel Technologies. "We've delivered a solution that works both economically and environmentally, increasing efficiencies across the entire supply chain, and now we are able to roll these out to address food spoilage in multi-billion dollar markets internationally."  

Since 2017, Hazel Technologies has completed over 100 pilot trials for products ranging from melons to okra, apricots, avocados, cherries and more.

Hazel Technologies intends to use its funding to continue the growth of its main product line and launch new technologies.