What would you do if you had a celebrity-sized bank account? Why not support a startup looking to reduce food waste?
On Tuesday, Seattle-based startup Shelf Engine announced that it received an investment from a list of celebrities passionate about the company’s cause. This includes actress Portia de Rossi, TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, pro snowboarder Shaun White and singer Shawn Mendes. The celebs were joined by VC firm PLUS Capital, which also participated in the funding round. The company did not specify the total amount of new funding it received in the round.
“Every step we take to eliminate food waste is a step closer to solving food insecurity across the globe,” DeGeneres said in a statement. “Shelf Engine is leading this fight against waste at retailers and grocery stores. The aim is to reduce the amount of fresh food that’s thrown away every day. Portia and I are honored to partner with Shelf Engine.”
Shelf Engine designed a tech platform that uses machine learning algorithms and multiple data sources in order to help grocery stores more accurately predict demand for products. This helps prevent grocery stores from being understocked or overstocked, which leads to food being wasted.
“The reality of achieving this mission [of reducing food waste] is that we have to make the right people care. And the right people are these large grocers who care about their profits,” Shelf Engine CEO and co-founder Stefan Kalb previously told Built In. “If we can take their 18 to 20 percent gross profits and increase that to 30 percent, they’re going to care and they’re going to act. So we’re able to achieve our mission by aligning profit with reducing food waste.”
This approach has proven to be successful for Shelf Engine. The company was able to grow its revenue by 540 percent over the past year. It grew its headcount from 23 employees to over 200. It also raised $41 million in a Series B funding round in March.
The new funding will help the company expand even further. Shelf Engine said it was looking to double its headcount over the next 12 months, which would mean hiring another 200-plus people. A number of these roles are currently open.
Since launching in 2016, Shelf Engine has helped retailers prevent over one million pounds of food from being thrown out. But as the company grows, its impact on fighting food waste will grow too.
