On Friday, Columbia, Md-based Hungry Harvest appeared on a new episode of the hit ABC television show SharkTank, which places entrepreneurs in-front of an all-star panel of renowned entrepreneurs to pitch their business for investment. Led by 23-year-old CEO Evan Lutz, Hungry Harvest, a sustainability-centric, waste reduction-focused food delivery startup, attracted a $100,000 investment from investor Robert Herjavec, CEO of global IT giant the Herjavec Group, for a 10 percent stake.
“I can help you run this business. I can help you scale it out," Herjavec told Lutz during his pitch, "this is what I do. Let’s give people hope. Let’s empower them."
"Let’s give people hope. Let’s empower them"
Now, Lutz tells DC Inno that Hungry Harvest is in the midst of raising another $500,000, for a total $600,000 seed round, so that Hungry Harvest can expand nationally through a partnership with specialty produce wholesaler Coosemans. The Coosemans deal will see Hungry Harvest use the wholesaler's 23 locations, across the U.S., as distribution hubs for storing and transporting goods.
The fresh funding, Lutz said, will also be used to create a software platform to help connect the company with farmers (suppliers) and customers (low-income and underserved families) in addition to hiring additional staff. This platform translates into two separate mobile apps: one for distribution partners that will assist in coordinating inventory purchases and the other to help customers order a package of produce every week.
Lutz declined to name the seed investors involved in the $500K raise due to ongoing negotiations.
At the moment, the startup stands at 4 full-time employees, with a handful of interns also volunteering. But in the not so distant future, a national team will oversee operations across the U.S, said Lutz.
Founded in 2014 on the University of Maryland's campus, Hungry Harvest is a for-profit, social good startup that leverages a wide network of local farmers to acquire surplus/excess produce and then sells the produce at an affordable price to families. These vegetables and fruits, which Lutz describes as sometimes "ugly" but always perfectly edible, are sold via a weekly delivery subscription model, complete with a web-based ordering format for customers.
Hungry Harvest's prices range from $15 for a bundle of "recovered" fruits and vegetables to $55 for a large package of organic produce (serving size: 3-5 people). And for every bag sold, Hungry Harvest says that it donates food to people in need.
In just the last 60 hours, after receiving mass attention through SharkTank, Lutz told DC Inno that Hungry Harvest has attracted 700 sign-ups for delivery in their two zones.
Right now, Hungry Harvest operates in two areas: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
"We want to meet that sort of demand on a larger scale. We'll be using the seed funding to do that," he said.
Importantly, Hungry Harvest claims that it has recovered roughly 300,000 pounds of produce from going to waste and delivered 100,000 pounds to those in need since being founded. About six billion pounds of fresh produce is thrown out every year, Lutz estimates.
Hungry Harvest is a member company at the Conscious Venture Lab (CVLab) accelerator, held in partnership with the Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) and housed at the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship in Columbia, Md. The accelerator's goal is to "foster companies and leaders who embrace the power of capitalism as a force for good in society." CVLab members typically trade 5 to 10 percent equity in their companies in exchange for an immersive 6 month program aimed at "accelerating conscious entrepreneurs to traction and revenue" and to network with a myriad of sustainable businesses, thinkers, mentors and investors.
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