Impacts
We’re proud of our founders’ work to clearly define the impact that stems
from the achievement of their business goals. Those self-defined
impacts map to more than 50 IRIS+ impact metrics. Here is a snapshot:
Have metrics aligned with environmental outcomes
53%
Have metrics aligned with health outcomes
65%
Have metrics aligned with diversity outcomes
76%
Supply Change Capital portfolio companies define impact metrics that align with their business goals and they report on them annually.
Learn about our
five-step impact process
Our investment thesis is guided by our framework, which illustrates the expected change and its context, visualizing short-term activities leading to long-term impact.
Integrated into our diligence process, we screen a company’s’ current or projected impacts across three key dimensions of diversity, environment, and health, using a standard rubric.
Our impact expectations are formalized in an investment side letter. An annual questionnaire allows companies to track their impacts across IRIS+ aligned indicator metrics.
Changing agricultural methods by building vertically-integrated platforms for regenerative farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers – to produce healthy nutrient-dense foods.
Number of acres of regenerative farms sourced from
Improved soil organic matter
Increased availability of healthier foods
Iowa’s 99 counties are the epicenter of American agricultural productivity, supporting some of the highest crop yields in the world. Yet, the region’s communities and the environment are hardly thriving. 99 Counties tackles this challenge by connecting regional consumers with local regeneratively-raised meat. Through fair pricing, supply chain coordination, marketing, and delivery, they enable farmers and regional residents to regenerate not just soil, but also the health of the regional environment and economy. Currently, 100% of their supply is grown, processed and sold within the regional food system: Iowa and its neighboring states. Their regenerative meat is traceable to 24 regional farms, and 6 partner processors.
99 Counties increases market access for their regenerative farmer suppliers, providing improved access to processing, distribution, storage and aggregation. Regenerative farming practices like rotational grazing, winter cover cropping, and diversified crop rotations have been found to deliver numerous environmental benefits that often extend far beyond farmers’ fields to regional waterways and even our global climate. As they scale, they create access to regeneratively raised meat found to provide several nutritional benefits relative to conventional alternatives.
“We believe that regenerative agriculture holds the key to solving many of the problems we face today. By supporting farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture we’re combating climate change, while rebuilding farm town communities and providing families with high-quality food.”
– Nick Wallace, Co-founder and Chief Farmer
An updated agua fresca, made with authentic recipes from real, rescued fruit & no added sugar – all served in beautiful eco-friendly cans.
Increased availability of underrepresented foods
The prevalence of sugar-related diseases like diabetes is high throughout the US. Latinx adults have a greater than 50% chance of developing Type-2 diabetes. Improving health should not require communities to abandon culturally relevant foods and drinks. Agua Bonita fills this need. Their drinks have as much as 80% less sugar than the traditional beverage. Recipes use real fruit and avoid synthetic additives.
As Agua Bonita continues to expand its retail presence, they’ve thought carefully about pricing and marketing their product for accessibility to key communities. With products available in retailers from Whole Foods to
7-Eleven, and tiered pricing to match, Agua Bonita has made it clear that only serving customers in wealthy zip codes is not enough. They plan to continue refining their pricing strategy and product-market fit moving forward to ensure that Agua Bonita’s beverages not only reach the customers who love them, but also that they lead this new beverage category they’re creating.
“Much like the aguas frescas we make, my family history starts in Mexico and settles in the fruit fields of the Central Valley of California. My ancestors immigrated to the states pursuing the opportunity for a better life and following the migrant farm work as field workers, which led us here – where we grow 60% of the nation’s produce!”
-Kayla Castañeda, founder of Agua Bonita
Innovating food systems through specialized fermentation techniques to create sustainable seafood alternatives with realistic texture and taste.
Percent heavy metals that is lower in Aqua Cultured Products
Reduced harmful heavy metals in food system
Fish and other seafood products provide vital nutrition and income to the world’s growing population. Seafood supplies more than three billion people with nutrients, and nearly a billion with income.19 Yet, climate change and overfishing threaten this important source of nutrients and economic livelihoods: + 60% of global fish populations could be gone by 2100.20 Cultures and communities around the world center and honor fish and seafood not only as vital sources of nutrients, but also as holders of ecological wisdom.
Aqua Cultured is on a mission to offer the world a sustainable seafood alternative that will save ocean ecosystems from the detrimental impacts of overfishing. Today, Aqua Cultured is commercializing the processes to bring perfected seafood alternatives to market.
Though fish and seafood are excellent sources of key nutrients, they also pose several problematic health risks. High levels of plastic and heavy metals in common species have made eating seafood risky. Additionally, especially as the ocean warms, many species pose an increased risk of ichthyosarcotoxins and related seafood poisoning (e.g., ciguatera poisoning). By providing an alternative, non-fish source of seafood products, Aqua Cultured relieves pressure to extract more from our oceans, and provides key nutrients in a safer form mitigating risks to consumers’ health.
Hand crafted dishes which bring to life unique ingredients and flavors from seventeen West African countries – all prepared in less than five minutes.
Increased availability of underrepresented foods
AYO’s recipes are made in collaboration with some of the world’s most celebrated African chefs. But flavor is just the beginning. Their line of meals has also been lauded for its nutritional profile. Expert use of whole, plant-based foods, especially as a protein source, make the line nutritionally superior relative to the frozen category. AYO’s products are also gluten-free.
AYO is bringing flavors of West Africa to Americans in convenient formats via several nationwide retailers. They also recently broke ground on an innovation center in the Southside of Chicago, which will provide critical operations space, a community cultural space, and support opportunities for Black youth through a partnership with a local high school.
Recipes from West Africa call for ingredients of West African origins. Many of these are grown in the US today by West African immigrants. By centering these ingredients in their products, AYO elevates crops pushed to the margins of conventional American agriculture. By expanding the market for nutritious, heat-, and drought-tolerant crops like peanuts and black eyed peas, AYO supports climate smart agriculture. They also often used wasted or lost ingredients into their products, an important step toward a climate smart food system. The company works with Girl Power Africa, a non-profit committed to empowering Liberian women and children to rise above economic and social conditions through entrepreneurship.
Recreating coffee minus coffee beans, with the same taste, aromas and effects but a fraction of the environmental footprint.
Reduced deforestation from replacement of coffee beans
In the near-term, 100% of ingredients will be sourced from Global Food Safety Initiative certified suppliers – a recognized food safety certification program. Compound aims to receive responsible sourcing certification for 60%-80% of its ingredients by 2024
Compound ensures diversity at all levels of the organization – from entry level to board members, two-thirds of their leadership and 70% of their team is female. They will target 50% female board members. As of 2023, all new job descriptions and managerial roles will include social and environmental performance, with ESG goals in employee training. By 2025, all job descriptions will include ESG performance.
By creating an alternative to coffee, Compound is relieving pressure on coffee production and supply chains. They are sensitive to how this will impact smallholder coffee farmers and they are partnering with DoSelva, a Nicaragua-based organization. This investment will help transition instead of translate traditional coffee production land into agroforestry systems which are better for biodiversity; this should translate into higher, diversified wages from the new, higher-value crops grown on their land.
Coffee production both suffers the effects of climate change, and contributes to it. Compound tackles both by using 90% local ingredients and 40% upcycled inputs. They recently joined the Upcycled Food Association. Additionally, Compound completed a life cycle assessment (LCA) on their product and determined it generates 91% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, 94% less water and 86% less land than coffee. The company plans to use renewable energy and reduce water usage in leased facilities, and in 2023 they will track the percentages of packaging that are made from recycled or renewable materials. They also plan to achieve B Corp certification.
Food safety automation for F&B companies.
Increased inclusion in workplace
Food safety is a major cost and market access limiter for food and beverage companies of all sizes. For new entrants, navigating food safety requirements to meet regulations and meet buyer requirements is often the factor that determines survival or failure. For those without deep professional networks or extensive financial resources, it can be a business-ending barrier they never overcome.
FoodReady solves for this by making food safety software accessible to businesses of all sizes and stages. They combine the human brain power of top notch food safety professionals with the playing field-leveling power of software. By making food safety planning essentially plug-and-play, FoodReady simultaneously makes it possible for more marginalized food businesses to succeed, but also makes the entire food supply safer in the process, a tremendous boon for consumers.
Foodborne pathogens sicken nearly 9 million Americans annually, with an economic cost most recently estimated at nearly $18B annually. These mounting costs spawned regulatory action in the form of the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) including a new rule stipulating additional traceability requirements for manufacturers and handlers of high-risk foods. FoodReady empowers food manufacturers to meet these new requirements and make the food supply safer for eaters everywhere. Their mobile and web app services include drag and drop HACCP/PCP plan development, operations, supplier, and receiving management tools, automated audit-ready document requests, as well as inventory and recall tools.
Aggregating billions of data points to provide the food industry with a global, real-time view into the climate, economic, and political risks affecting your suppliers.
Number of crops tracked on platform
Number of countries tracked on platform
Harnessing the power of AI to adapt to disruptions
Helios leverages advanced technology to analyze billions of signals in real-time for their enterprise clients. They can analyze data at the farm and facility level, empowering customers to proactively prepare for supply chain disruptions.
Case in point: In December 2023, European potato prices rose as heavy rains sunk potato spuds, limiting supplies during a high demand period for this Christmas-dinner staple. Farmers sidelined tractors, which have difficulty navigating waterlogged fields, limiting collection. The crops risked rotting if left too long.
Helios flagged this type of disruption in advance, predicting the precipitation impacting potatoes in mid-to-late October – weeks before the price of processed potatoes rose to an all time seasonal high. The information helps mitigate millions of dollars in potential price increases from the bad harvest.
Transforming food processing wastewater into feedstocks for biomanufacturing and clean water.
Gallons of water reused
Less waste in supply chains (reuse as feedstock)
Increased availability of alternative feedstocks
Reimagining closed loop beverage systems.
Number of Kadeya bottles dispensed
Employee hydration data for OSHA
Less plastic bottles used
Improved efficiency in supply chain
Stronger workplace benefits & policies
A hassle-free and cost-effective hydration solution
Kadeya provides on-demand filtered and flavored water to today’s workforce via stainless steel reusable bottles that can be returned at the end of the day on site. Kadeya is focused on the US Industrial Workplace market, where they see an opportunity to convert one of the largest sectors that relies on single-use water bottles to the Kadeya system.
Studies show that 75% of US workers15 are chronically dehydrated. Data from Kadeya on worker hydration levels help employers predict worker hydration levels and prevent any heat-related injuries. Employee usage creates digital records which demonstrate water consumption and usage for OSHA compliance. In addition, Kadeya is focused on developing a supply chain for recycled stainless steel for its bottles and sourcing it domestically to continue to limit emissions across its broader supply chain.
An emissions reduction software platform transforming the agricultural sector.
Number of farms participating on platform
Number of active projects
Increased funding for carbon-reduction projects on farms
Natural ingredients from fungi biofactories, beginning with colorants.
Number of products sold
Less land and water use
Less waste in supply chains (reuse as feedstock)
When it comes to food and beverages, visual appeal is huge. But achieving mouth-watering color palettes in consumer packaged goods is difficult. Go-to dyes like Red 40 are not only linked with human health concerns, they also threaten planetary health. Derived from petroleum, conventional dyes are inconsistent with a fossil fuel-free future. Michroma makes its colorants from upcycled agricultural waste, like the starchy residue leftover from making plant- based protein products. By using this waste to feed fungi, Michroma reduces the environmental impact of alternative protein production and helps manufacturers reabsorb their transformed waste as an ingredient to finished products.
Michroma is a global ingredient company that offers effective food colorants made in partnership with nature’s most powerful biofactory– fungi. Today, Michroma is hyper-focused on ensuring that their high-performance, natural colorants like Red+ meet the highest standards for health and safety, and whenever possible, offer additional nutritional benefits as well. Red+ offers a sustainable, cost-effective product with zero residual taste that is an easy- to-use alternative to Red 40. With year-round supply, optimal scalability, and comparable performance with existing ingredients, Michroma’s Red+ is kind to both our health and the planet’s.
Championing food inclusivity by offering a range of delicious, allergy-friendly foods for those with and without food restrictions to enjoy and share with confidence.
Number of products sold
Increased availability of better for you foods
Partake products are safe to share and made in allergen-free facilities. The company selects ingredients to be better for the health of their customers, focusing on just a few wholesome ingredients. Partake partners with organizations like No Kid Hungry to provide access to food, education and advocacy for families that live with food allergies. Their products are available at major retailers and they are expanding to schools, where they’re supporting creation of “safe tables” in cafeterias where allergy-sensitive students can eat without fear.
Partake was founded by a Black woman and is led by a team composed primarily of people whose gender and racial identities are underrepresented in the food industry. Partake’s founder and CEO Denise Woodard founded Black Futures in Food and Beverage in 2020. This annual fellowship program mentors students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and helps them advance towards promising futures in the food and beverage industry, where Black men and women are historically underrepresented.
Partake’s scale is expected to greatly reduce their logistics related greenhouse gas emissions. The company plans to track their fridge savings, including freight mile reductions. Using standard EPA tools, they will be able to calculate the overall reductions and efficiency improvements on a per unit basis.
Connecting CPG brands and co-manufacturers for a healthier planet.
Number of better-for-you brands on platform
Increased availability of better for you foods
Creating new food and beverage products is hard. From refining the perfect recipe to finding a way onto retail shelves, there are countless challenges to overcome, but one of the most difficult steps is identifying and building relationships with contract manufacturers (co-mans). Many emerging food and beverage brands struggle to find the right co-man, which often means failure to make it to market entirely.
PartnerSlate makes it easier to bring new foods and beverages to market. Their software matches brands with high-quality production partners, providing wrap-around services to support partnerships. They help companies from local startups to global brands make their products with partners that match their financial goals as well as their scale, geographic, and quality needs. By lowering this barrier, PartnerSlate creates opportunities for more diverse, innovative products to come to market. They enable the transition to a healthier slate of food products.
PartnerSlate’s technology provides a critical hub to support this food and beverage revolution, catalyzing the adoption of emerging sustainability practices and technologies to make CPG more sustainable.
“I have a deep conviction that one of mankind’s biggest challenges in the 21st century is finding a way to feed 10 billion people on the planet in a sustainable and healthy way. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. Fortunately, thousands of entrepreneurs are bringing their ingenuity and talents to bear on the task. As CEO of PartnerSlate, I’m committed to doing our part to help facilitate their success.”
– Vince Tseng, CEO, PartnerSlate
Unlocking revenue for businesses with an upgraded checkout, allowing for same-day, scheduled, and recurring orders all in one seamless menu experience.
Number of customers
Improved efficiency in logistics
Americans under-consume produce.23 Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans are consuming enough fruits and vegetables.24 This dietary pattern is linked with development of numerous chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, at least one of which now afflict a full half of American adults.
Prado tackles this problem with their all-in-one platform to bring fresh, produce- rich food to diverse communities. The platform differentiates from competitors in that it supports just-in-time, made-to-order production of fresh, minimally processed menu items.
Their software brings perishable product inventory management into the 21st century, helping meal prep companies and farm businesses move from demand forecasting and just-in-time models prone to waste to more efficient, cost- saving just-in-time food production. Prado’s inventory management includes easy-to-use dropdown reason coding for depletion that Prado plans to enhance to support food waste tracking. In a country where 30-40% of food is wasted each year,26 transitioning to less wasteful models of food procurement, preparation, distribution, and consumption is critical.
Integrations with delivery apps enable these better-for-you brands to get their healthy foods into more food deserts, or zip codes where traditional grocery retail is absent. Prado is a key enabling technology to catalyze access to healthy foods.
Engineering the plant microbiome to create a more sustainable food system.
Average crop yield by hectare
Improved land use efficiency
Decreased chemical pesticide use
Building on Nature’s Foundation
Robigo provides chemical-free pesticides for farmers. Their compelling value proposition addresses crop yields, quality, versatility and competes on cost with conventional pesticides. They have proven their treatments in various crops including tomato, cabbage, apple, and turnip in greenhouse and lab conditions.
CEO Andee Wallace explains, “Today, the most widely used pesticides are toxic to the soil, broader environment, and human consumers in large part because they kill indiscriminately. We’ve developed a way to give naturally-occurring microbes a boost that enables them to protect crops from disease.”
Robigo is currently focused on yield; the next stage of measurement is exploring the impact of a diverse microbiome on soil and human health. They also seek to concretely measure the environmental benefits of Robigo’s treatments against petroleum-based pesticides.
A workforce optimization platform for labor-intensive industries, unlocking mobility & earnings potential for frontline workers while providing traceability & predictability for operators.
Number of customer sites
Number of users on the platform
Improved efficiency at facilities
Increased visibility into workforce skill set
A data platform for the future of (manual) work
Tendrel’s software platform drives workflow & workforce visibility for frontline operators, starting within the food and agriculture industry. In 2023, Tendrel delivered value across a variety of dimensions, voiced by their customers:
“We’re looking to Tendrel as a unified system of work, spanning sites across the country to provide near real-time supply chain visibility for both our workforce and product. This platform is a cornerstone to drive productivity and reduce waste.” Jeremy Stokes, APS Growers (UK multi-site operator of greenhouses & packhouses)
“Our facility was able to reduce food waste in one month by 30x – from 15,000 lbs. to less than 500 lbs., which was enabled by both effective sales allocation and visibility through Tendrel.” COO of a family-owned / small operator farm in US