PHILADELPHIA–AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGFS), a global leader in produce freshness solutions, today announced that it has invested $10 million for a 15% ownership stake in and entered into a commercial agreement with Food Freshness Technology Holdings Limited (FFT), providers of the award-winning It’s Fresh! ethylene removal filters. The proprietary active ingredient of It’s Fresh! has been found to be 100 times more powerful than any other ethylene-absorbing substances, providing a powerful tool to preserve food freshness.
“This commercial agreement provides a creative approach to gaining access to ground-breaking technologies as well as entering into unique collaborations to accelerate our retail growth strategy. We expect FFT’s It’s Fresh! technology to complement the RipeLockTM Quality System, our retail solution for extending the freshness of bananas. Through the commercial agreement, AgroFresh will gain access to It’s Fresh! Ethylene Removal Filters, adding a new technology offering for high value crops such as berries, stone fruit, avocadoes, tomatoes and cherries, and opening up new opportunities to address food waste in retail,” said Jordi Ferre, CEO of AgroFresh. “Our investment in FFT will enable us not only to participate in its growth, but will also accelerate our penetration of food freshness solutions for retail. We are excited to work with FFT to offer their It’s Fresh! product to our extensive global roster of fruit growers and enhance the value of the solutions we deliver for them. Our relationship with FFT is further evidence of our commitment to capitalize on the growth opportunities emerging in the $1 trillion food preservation and waste reduction industry.”
FFT, headquartered in Cranfield, UK, markets its unique ethylene filters under the “It’s Fresh! TM” brand to retailers, growers and exporters in North America, EMEA and Latin America. FFT’s filters create a protective ‘FreshasphereTM’ around fruit and vegetables, significantly improve the quality of fruits and vegetables, reducing waste and increasing sales.
Peter Shalson, CEO of Food Freshness Technology, said, “We are excited by AgroFresh’s investment and their ability to extend our commercial reach through AgroFresh’s strong brand and global distribution network. Both companies share a common culture and an unwavering commitment to developing new solutions to the growing problem of food waste, especially at retail. Under this commercial agreement, we will work cooperatively to grow our market share in the retail and grower segments.”
Furthermore, the companies’ respective R&D teams will work together to further their mutual goal of improving food quality. Although both companies will continue to operate independently, a key goal of the mutual collaboration is to increase penetration of each company’s respective technology at leading retailers. Where FFT has developed strong retailer relationships, it will serve as a sales agent for AgroFresh’s RipeLock program and AgroFresh will correspondingly do the same for FFT’s It’s Fresh! TM filters with AgroFresh’s retail partners.
To learn more about Food Freshness Technology and the It’s Fresh! TM products please visit FFT’s website at http://www.itsfresh.com.
AgroFresh: advancing the future of freshness.
About AgroFresh
AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGFS) is a global industry leader in providing innovative data-driven specialty solutions aimed at enabling growers and packers of fresh produce to preserve and enhance the freshness, quality and value of fresh produce and to maximize the percentage of produce supplied to the market relative to the amount of produce grown. Its flagship product is the SmartFresh™ Quality System, a freshness protection technology proven to maintain firmness, texture and appearance of fruits during storage and transport. SmartFresh is currently commercialized in over 40 countries worldwide. Additionally, the company has a number of different solutions and application technologies that have either been launched (Harvista, RipeLock, LandSpring) or will be launched in the future that will extend its footprint to other crops and steps of the global produce supply chain. For more information, please visit www.agrofresh.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements and are identified with, but not limited to, words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “estimate”, “plan”, “outlook”, and “project” and other similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions). Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s possible or assumed future results of operations, including all statements regarding anticipated future growth, adoption of the Company’s or FFTH’s products, business strategies, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities and the effects of regulation. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s management’s control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, without limitation, the risk of increased competition; the ability of the business to grow and manage growth profitably; changes in applicable laws or regulations, and the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Source: AgroFresh
