October 29, 2018

Boston-based Spoiler Alert, a tech platform that aids large-scale food manufacturers and wholesale distributors manage and control unsold inventory, announced it has secured a strategic investment from international logistics company, Maersk.

Spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2015, Spoiler Alert is changing the way that unsold and wasted food is handled. The company has a dual platform: a business intelligence solution that allows companies to establish item-level tracking and reporting of  food recovery and waste diversion actions; and a controlled relationship management portal that facilitates real-time food donations, discounted sales, or organic byproduct redistribution and recycling to local, regional, and national networks.

The company also recently debuted a new inventory module that supports greater integration with each food company’s warehouse management systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

“Our new capabilities are increasingly predictive and preventative in nature, allowing customers to anticipate shrink before it happens and providing them with dynamic tools that strategically introduce discounted sales channels into their portfolio of value recovery options,” said Emily Malina, chief product officer, Spoiler Alert.

GAI News first wrote about Spoiler Alert in November of 2016 when it announced the closing of a $2.5 million Seed round led by Acre Venture Partners. Other investors in the round include the Fink Family Foundation, Valley Oak Investments, LaunchCapital, Fresh Source Capital, and FTW Ventures.

The latest funding gained through the backing from Maersk will serve to help the company expand its engineering, customer, and sales teams.

“Maersk is thrilled to be backing Spoiler Alert in this next phase of growth,” said Peter Jorgensen, venture partner with Maersk. “We are extremely bullish on their ability to distill insights from companies’ inventory and waste data and introduce real-time decision-making capabilities for their customers.”

Up to 40 percent of food produced, processed, and transported in the U.S ends up never being eaten, according to Feeding America, and more food finds its way to landfills and incinerators than any other type of municipal solid waste. This loss represents a fiduciary hit of $218 billion to U.S. farmers, businesses, and consumers each year, according to ReFED.

Food Dive has reported that 94 percent of diverted food waste is used as animal feed or applied to farmland, and that 100 percent of major food companies that were surveyed by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance reported that they were investing in four out of five methods of food waste reduction. However, Spoiler Alert’s technology and platform is situated to give these companies an added incentive in reducing lost revenue and improving their tax base.

“By enabling businesses with unsold inventory to connect in real-time with networks of nonprofits and discount buyers, we see an opportunity not only to increase profitability, but also to drive greater collaboration between food manufacturers, distributors, retailers and farms…”, said Ricky Ashenfelter, co-founder and CEO of Spoiler Alert, in 2016.

Since its founding, Spoiler Alert has grown into a platform that operates across global supply chains. The company has expanded its work to distribution and fulfillment centers across the U.S. to include industry leaders such as Sysco, HelloFresh, and many more undisclosed Fortune 500 food companies and customers, as well as a growing network of hunger relief organizations and closeout buyers.

And as an integrated logistics and shipping company working to simplify and connect customers’ supply chains, Maersk’s addition of Spoiler Alert to its investment portfolio would appear to be a good fit.

“Since starting Spoiler Alert in 2015, we’ve been committed to building an enduring company that operates across global supply chains, not just here in the United States” said Ashenfelter. “Maersk offers unparalleled logistics expertise, as well as access to thousands of food brands that leverage its transportation and supply chain services to move perishable product around the world.”

-Lynda Kiernan