Here is one of them Questions you’ve probably never thought about, but probably should: What works on your fruit? Not on the field – although obviously that’s something to consider – but rather in that time between selection and purchase? Pesticides aren’t the only things you spray out of the back of a big biplane.
The focus of the young Argentinian startup Nat4bio is on that – namely the thin film applied to its production. This serves two key purposes. First is the above-mentioned pesticide requirement. Beyond dealing with insects in the field, growers and sellers must consider microscopic threats.
Image Credits: Nat4Bio
The second is the most difficult ripening process. How, when and where a fruit should ripen is not a straightforward proposition. Some fruits, such as bananas, are picked when they are green and encouraged to ripen on the way to their destination. On the other hand, berries are different. In such cases, when things begin to spoil quickly, a good cover slows down the cooking process.
Of course, there is one big caveat in all of this: the fruit is perishable, so it must be eaten.
“The product is made with two main compounds, both of which are obtained by fermentation of native and non-GMO microorganisms,” co-founder and CEO Joaquin Fish told TechCrunch. “The first major compound is a glucose-based polymer. It is mixed with other food-grade additives in very small amounts. Those excipients are intended to provide the mechanical properties required by the formulation, such as the film’s viscosity, adhesiveness, and elasticity.
In addition to protecting the product from harmful microbes, it limits the exchange of gases that accelerate the ripening process. The company is currently targeting production in Latin America, including its native Argentina, as well as Chile, Peru and – potentially – Mexico.
The company is still very small, with four full-time employees, Fisch included. He met the other two founders at a company-building practice called Green Exponential, an Argentina-based incubator/VC. Since then, he has participated in the SOSV IndiebBio program from March to June last year. So far, the pre-seed round has raised $750,000.
Nat4bio’s food-grade coating for citrus fruits is on the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt this week, with additional plans to formulate avocado and berry formulations.
