Bainbridge Island-based agriculture technology company RipeLocker has raised $7.5 million.
RipeLocker is calling the raise, announced Monday, a "friends and family round," and the company said it plans to raise a larger Series A round in the fall. RipeLocker has raised $21 million total since its founding in 2016, according to the company.
“What’s exciting about this current raise is it includes funds from customers, grower, packers, agricultural industry executives and academics. These individuals have the background to truly understand the value created by the RipeLocker inside the perishable space,” George Lobisser, co-founder and CEO of RipeLocker, said in a release.
With the money, RipeLocker said it plans to upgrade its technology and add to its inventory.
RipeLocker makes pallet-sized storage containers designed to extend the life of perishables like fruits and flowers. Its containers, which maintain low oxygen and pressure with high humidity, are not a replacement for refrigeration. According to the company's website, RipeLocker's containers can prolong post-harvest life by weeks or even months.
RipeLocker raised $5 million from angel investors in April 2021. In June of this year, the company announced a sales deal with the floral importer and grower The Queen's Flowers. RipeLocker didn't mention any specifics of the deal in the announcement but said the company had done trials with The Queen's Flowers during high-volume times like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
There are 13 employees listed on RipeLocker's website. The company had seven employees in April 2021 but planned to hire three more last year.
At the time of the $5 million round, Lobisser told the Business Journal that although its technology is primarily targeting growers, the containers could also benefit retailers.
"After labor, a retailer's second-largest cost is shrink. The fruit and veggies they throw away, it's because they didn't last on the shelf," Lobisser said at the time.
