Meet Our 2020 Finalists: Everfresh Biocoating Technology

Everfresh Biocating Technology provides nature-based edible food coating to extend shelf-life and reduce food waste. They are 1 of our 12 Finalist Teams who will compete in the upcoming FoodTech Challenge Awards Ceremony. Read more about them below.

What makes your team excited about your idea and food technology?:

Everfresh addresses two challenges, post-harvest food loss and seafood waste disposal. These represent an economic and environmental burden to the UAE and to the rest of the world. Everfresh’s technology uses a sprayable chitosan-based formulation, which provides a protective, edible coating for agriculture produce while recycling seafood waste. In Everfresh, we utilize the main building block that nature has developed as protective barrier against a multitude of organisms.

What makes us excited about our idea is that the application of Everfresh ensures that sustainable objectives will be met. These includes reduction of food waste, reduction of greenhouse gas emission, and positive economic impact. Reduction of food waste equates directly to increased revenue for distributors and retailers, and end consumers will find fruits and vegetables with improved freshness and extended shelf-life.

The fact we can reduce food waste, and protect agriculture produce while recycling seafood waste is a win-win situation from a sustainable and economic point of view, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic, when the food security and nutrition of millions of people around the world are affected. In Everfresh, we believe that now more than ever it’s important to join efforts using science alongside nature to secure food supply and minimize food loss and waste. We are excited to start doing our part to make this world a better place, where there is more food for everyone and less waste. A better place for the present and future generations and for the environment.

What is the biggest source of motivation for your team to work on this project?:

Our biggest motivation is to join the fight against food loss and waste. We aim to promote sustainability practices through the application of our technology to agriculture produce. Our goal is to minimize food loss and waste using natural compounds for both retailers and consumers, and to make the fruits and vegetables last longer, resulting in better-quality and more food available for everyone. The sustainable approach we adopt in Everfresh rely on the use of the seafood industry waste as the main source of the raw material used for our innovative product.

Could you tell us something unique about your team that makes you a strong contender to be in the Top 4 winners?:

We all come from different academic backgrounds, have expertise in the field of biotechnology, chemical engineering, and sales & marketing. Most importantly, we share the passion and strategic vision of the company to make this business successful and achieve great performance, promoting economic sustainability, and bringing cutting-edge technology to the UAE.

Lastly, if you are selected as one of the four winners, how does your team plan to use the prize money?

If we are selected as one of the four winners, we plan to join the Catalyst Accelerator Program, and relocate to Abu Dhabi to establish our business. Patent application is among our first priorities once fund is secured as the technology used in Everfresh is novel. The initial investment will be mainly used to rent the facility, acquire equipment, pay operating expenses, conduct further R&D. Everfresh is seeking seed funding to build a pilot production line for the purpose of proof of concept, entering the market, building the brand awareness and attracting potential customers, and preparing its commercial launch.

Everfresh team also seeks to contribute a specific percentage of the award money for charity purposes, particularly helping cancer patients.