As Save Foods Looks Toward 2023, Achievements In 2022 Could Propel The Company's Quest To Address Food Waste, Loss And Safety Challenges

Save Foods Inc. SVFD has been addressing two of the most significant challenges in the agri-food tech industry — food waste and loss and food safety.

The company says it is dedicated to delivering integrated green solutions for improved safety, freshness and quality from farm to fork. Save Foods’ technology allows growers, packers and food retailers to reduce their waste and increase their revenues, with more food ending up on plates and less in landfills.

The company’s treatments, which combine its proprietary blend of food acids and oxidizers , were commercially validated on citrus fruits, mangos, avocados, pears, bell peppers, microgreens and various fresh-cut vegetables.

Save Foods is evaluating the application of its treatment for bananas, apples, lychees, berries, papaya lettuce, asparagus and tomatoes.

By controlling and preventing pathogen contamination and significantly reducing the use of hazardous chemicals (pesticides) and their residues, Save Foods’ treatment not only prolongs produce’s shelf life and reduces food loss and waste but also ensures a safe and healthy product.

Save Foods has seen major global expansion and success in its pilot programs this year.

2022 In Retrospect

Save Foods kicked off the year with an agreement to provide its eco-crop protection treatment as a white-label offering to Israeli cannabis company BRLev Agricultural Crops Ltd.’s global network.

After announcing its Israeli subsidiary Save Foods Ltd., Save Foods teamed up with Galilee Export, Israel’s second-largest exporter of fresh produce, to fight food waste. Avocados that stay fresh for up to twice as long became available in Europe thanks to Save Foods and Galilee exports.

In January, the company extended the range of applications of its eco-crop protection treatment after successfully applying it to fresh berries in a recent trial and expects commercialization for berry treatment in the beginning of 2023. Fresh berries are one of the most sensitve types of crops — the results showed a significant reduction in produce waste while maintaining freshness over time.

In the same month, Save Foods marked another major milestone when it publicized that it had received a receipt of approval from the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation to sell its products in Peru.

And it would seem the company was just getting started. On Feb. 7, Israel’s largest fresh produce exporter, Mehadrin Tnuport Export L.P., began using Save Foods’ green treatment in its citrus packing houses — achieving a 50% reduction in fungicides by using Save Foods’ treatment.

Save Foods also attained product certification from NSF International, a leading global independent public health and safety organization. 

The company announced that leading Turkish citrus packing house Kalyoncu Nakliyat Turizm Ticaret ve Sanayi Limited Şirketi became a commercial customer for the remaining citrus season and expects to purchase more than $1 million worth of products for the 2022-23 season — Save Foods' treatment again managed to reduce the use of pesticides, while maintaining freshness and reducing waste by 50%.

After boosting the shelf life of strawberries, Save Foods announced on March 15 that it had expanded its reach to Africa, fighting food waste with local partner Auryon Holdings.

That announcement was followed by another one on March 21 that pilot results showed Save Foods’ treatment reduces pear loss by 60%. Before that, the company had completed a two-season trial with Israeli packer Rafkor Ltd., which has become a Save Foods commercial customer.

On May 5, Save Foods said its proprietary eco-crop protection solution demonstrated up to 90% less disease development in cannabis flower.

On June 9, the company received organic recognition for its eco-crop treatment from the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), an international nonprofit organization that provides an independent review of products intended for use in certified organic production and processing.

After a global exporter of blueberries in South Africa completed a successful pilot using Save Foods’ proprietary eco-crop protection solution, the company accelerated a new partnership with Korair, that together with Accentis Group, will introduce Save Foods’ treatments in Morocco.

Next, the company completed several successful pilot programs with lime packers in Mexico. Save Foods also expanded its global footprint with seven commercial pilots with leading exporters in Peru.

In August, the company kicked off several activities leading to the public offering of its common stock. On Aug. 25, Save Foods announced the notice of patent allowance in the U.S. for its proprietary blend of acid-based technology to protect fruits and vegetables from decay.

Following the successful completion of several pilot programs in Veracruz, Mexico, the company said there has been new commercial adoption of its eco-crop protection treatment by Mexican lime packers.

In September, Save Foods saw a growing interest among European retailers and distributors in its innovative eco-treatment. In a letter to shareholders on Sept. 13, the company revealed that it is conducting more than 60 pilot programs in 12 growing regions globally.

Huge Market Opportunity?

Dan Sztybel, CEO of Israeli subsidiary Save Foods Ltd., said the market opportunity for the company’s products is huge — especially for countries exporting to Europe.

“Europe has moved to a new regulation or goals with the farm-to-fork initiative. And Goal 1 of this initiative is to reduce by 50% the use of pesticide by 2030 and even to switch 25% of production to be organic by 2030,” he said.

“This new regulatory situation is a catch-22 — it is very challenging for packers and retailers to reduce their waste when they have to reduce the use of pesticides. So Save Foods is a must-have product for packers to ensure that when shipping their fruits and vegetables to Europe, they can arrive in a very good condition with minimum waste possible.” 

With an industry that has players such as LSB Industries Inc. LXU, Mosaic Co. MOS and CVR Partners LP UAN, Save Foods says it is ready for 2023. The company anticipates treating around 5 million tons of fruits and vegetables, which is less than 1% of the addressable market, a total of 500 million tons — nearly nine times the weight of the entire Great Wall of China, oft cited as the heaviest object ever built by humanity.

“We have more than 90% conversion rate from pilot to paying customers, and the main reason is our product is a must for all the countries exporting to Europe and also definitely a very important product to have for everyone who wants to ensure its produce quality,” Sztybel noted.

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