Nine innovators in sustainable packaging, traceability, and food-waste reduction join FFP and IFPA’s 2025 accelerator, backed by USDA’s $10 million Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab
Nine technology firms specializing in sustainable packaging, traceability, shelf-life extension, and food-waste reduction have been tapped for the 2025 Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator, a program that links promising innovators with decision-makers across the $340 billion global produce and floral supply chain.
The Foundation for Fresh Produce and the International Fresh Produce Association unveiled the group on May 5, explaining that the six-month accelerator will culminate in a live showcase during The Global Produce & Floral Show this October in Anaheim, California.
Created in 2022, the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator is intended to speed adoption of workable technologies by giving later-stage start-ups direct access to growers, packers, shippers, retailers, and food-service buyers.
The 2025 cohort was selected for its potential to help the industry curb single-use plastics, extend freshness, and comply with increasingly complex import-export rules while doing so economically and at scale.
The incoming class features companies headquartered from California to Georgia and Texas: Akorn Technology (Berkeley), SAVRpak (San Juan Capistrano), Corumat (Yakima), Kwik Lok (Yakima), Nat4Bio (San Francisco), NNZ Inc. (Lawrenceville), PakItGreen (East Lansing), Peelon (Austin), and Sway (San Francisco).
Their inventions range from seaweed-based films that biodegrade in compost piles to oxygen-scavenging inserts that slow dehydration inside clamshells.
All nine will test and refine their products alongside industry mentors, with Clemson University scientists and commercial packaging engineers helping to align lab results with large-scale packing-house realities.
“Each year, we bring together a diverse group of innovative companies with real products that are on the forefront of food and ag innovation. This cohort exemplifies how technology can be a powerful catalyst in addressing key industry issues in packaging solutions replacing single-use packaging economically and sustainably while meeting worldwide import and export regulations.”
Vonnie Estes, IFPA Vice President of AgFood Tech Innovation
The accelerator is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service through its $10 million Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab, an initiative launched under the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) program to knock down non-tariff barriers that limit international sales of U.S. fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
Collaboration with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and faculty at Clemson provides additional technical depth, while IFPA leverages a global membership of more than 3,000 companies to pilot technologies in real supply-chain conditions.
Once accepted, participants attend a series of virtual “deep-dive” sessions led by growers, cold-chain operators, import inspectors, and e-commerce grocers who outline operational pain points and regulatory hurdles.
Field visits to farms and distribution centers allow companies to observe how pallets move from shed to ship and where material innovations can shave costs or shrink carbon footprints.
At program’s end, each firm is expected to present a commercial-ready solution and a go-to-market plan vetted by at least two produce companies and one logistics provider.
Past accelerator alumni have secured joint-development agreements with major berry exporters, landed pilot trials with salad-kit processors, and according to organizers reduced package weight by up to 30 percent while maintaining shelf life for trans-Pacific shipments.
This year’s sponsors hope for similar outcomes, especially as governments in Europe and North America tighten restrictions on petroleum-based plastics and mandate clearer traceability for food-safety and sustainability audits.
Organizers emphasize that the program is neither an incubator for early-stage concepts nor an investment fund; instead, it is a matchmaking platform for companies that already have tested prototypes and now need industry connectivity to scale.
Advisory-board members include sourcing managers from multinational retailers, postharvest scientists, and logistics executives who score each project on technical merit, scalability, and regulatory compliance before recommending commercial pilots.
