Cambridge Crops Rebrands As Mori; Secures $12M Series A For Food Waste Technology

Cambridge Crops said Friday it has rebranded itself as Mori and raised a $12 million Series A to advance its food coating technology.

The 4-year-old Boston-based company said in a written statement that it will use the new investment to scale production of its protective silk coating product, designed to reduce waste and create a more sustainable supply chain, as well as develop commercial partnerships in multiple food categories.

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Acre Venture Partners led the Series A round, which included new investors Prelude Ventures, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust and ACCELR8, as well as existing investors The Engine, Refactor Capital, Closed Loop Partners, Blindspot Ventures and The Fink Family Foundation.

Lucas Mann, managing partner at Acre, said in a written statement that Mori’s technology flexibility puts the company in a good position to attract food and agriculture companies.

“Food waste is an extraordinary challenge, both economic and environmental,” Mann added. “Mori provides natural, well understood and cost effective solutions across various stages of the supply chain to combat waste.”

The company said it rebranded to Mori to better reflect the protective barrier technology it is using—a naturally occurring protein from Bombyx mori silk, which has evolved to protect life against the elements.

The United States wastes approximately 40 percent of the food it produces, and globally, $2.6 trillion annually is lost, the company said. Other sustainable food startups are addressing this problem, too. In May, we reported on Apeel Sciences securing a $250 million round of funding to develop its coating product, as well as Imperfect Foods, which said it raised $72 million in Series C funding.

“We often ask ourselves about what we can enable by extending shelf life,” said Mori CEO Adam Behrens in a written statement. “There are major implications across food waste, food access, freight efficiency, food quality, and even the packaging we use. All unlocked with a single, naturally occurring protein.”

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias