July 20, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Cambridge Crops has rebranded, reborn as Mori, and announced that it has closed on a $12 million Series A led by Acre Venture Partners.

This round also included new investors Prelude Ventures, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, ACCELR8, and returning investors The Engine, Refactor Capital, Closed Loop Partners, Blindspot Ventures, and The Fink Family Foundation. 

Founded in Boston, Massachusetts, Cambridge Crops rebranded as Mori to better reflect the technology core to its mission based on advancing innovations in the food, ag, and packaging sectors.

“The earliest iterations of the Cambridge Crops technology were born out of Professor Fiorenzo Omenetto’s Silk Lab at Tufts University and co-invented with MIT Professor Benedetto Marelli,” noted Adam Bergman in his recent article, Part II: Technology Offers Fresh Ways to Reduce Food Waste, published by GAI News on July 14. 

“Most consumers probably don’t think about food waste happening in the protein sector as much as in the produce section, because much of the waste occurs prior to being purchased by consumers,” continued Bergman. “With more and more consumers troubled by the environmental impact of raising beef and hogs, and to a lesser extent poultry and seafood, there is a strong imperative to find ways to reduce the amount of animals raised for food, with reducing food waste being one of the easiest solutions to the problem.”

Mori’s innovative and proprietary water-based process uses just salt and water to extract protein from silk to create a natural and edible protective layer that can extend the shelf life and freshness of foods including meat, fish, produce, and processed products.

This protective barrier, which is derived from the silk of Bombyx mori  – a domestic silk moth that is a member of the Bombycidae insect family – prevents oxidation, improves water retention, and slows microbial growth. 

Commenting on the rebranding and new name, company CEO Adam Behrens said, “We wanted our rebrand to reflect our technology’s origin in a clear and honest way. Just like honey bees make honey and beeswax, Bombyx mori make silk.”

Mori’s protein and its application are currently protected by 20 patents, 25 patent applications, a number trade secrets, and benefit from a strong IP portfolio. The company has also secured Self-Designated Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which acknowledges the acceptance of food and beverage ingredients and requires the approval of an expert panel. Mori stated that its panel consists of leading toxicologists, nutritionists, and allergists that universally concluded that the company’s silk protein is safe for consumption.

Mori’s technology also offers a high level of flexibility, as it can be implemented at any point along the supply chain.

“We’ve been impressed by the progress of the Mori team, and the flexibility of the technology sets them up as a very attractive solution for both food and agriculture companies,” said Lucas Mann, managing partner,  Acre Venture Partners.

“Food waste is an extraordinary challenge, both economic and environmental. Mori provides natural, well understood and cost effective solutions across various stages of the supply chain to combat waste.”

With this new capital, Mori said that it intends to build out and strengthen its manufacturing capacity, and continue to foster commercial partnerships across multiple food categories.

“We often ask ourselves about what we can enable by extending shelf life,” said Behrens. “There are major implications across food waste, food access, freight efficiency, food quality, and even the packaging we use. All unlocked with a single, naturally occurring protein.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.