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There is so much food waste in the United States that roughly one-third of what we generate ends up in landfills instead of in our stomachs. This increases overproduction, packaging, storage and shipping requirements, all of which have a negative impact on climate change.
recent research A paper published in the journal Science found that food production accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Food delivery services like HelloFresh, Blue Apron, and EveryPlate take some of this burden off by sending consumers what they need for a particular recipe.
A New York-based startup called Hungry Root is going one step further. The nine-year-old company uses artificial intelligence to provide a more curated experience and provide consumers with the exact amount of food they use.
Customers answer a number of questions about food likes and dislikes, allergies, health goals, and more. It also answers questions about when and how to cook. Based on these answers, Hungryroot’s technology infers which recipes and grocery items are best for each customer.
“Hungry Root is completely designed to give you just the food you need for the week,” Ben McKean, the company’s CEO, told CNBC. “It also provides easy recipes so you know exactly what to do with it, which significantly reduces food waste for our customers.”
Hungryroot sends the user a list of weekly cart contents and allows the user to approve or modify items.
Companies can also reduce their own waste. If we determine that the user has no preference between broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and we happen to have more broccoli in our warehouse, we recommend it.
The company said these processes lead to an 80% reduction in food waste at its facilities compared to traditional supermarkets.
Investors argue that this unique model is also good for returns.
“The company has been profitable for the last three or four years, which is unusual for many e-commerce and food businesses,” said Jeremy Liu, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “They’re able to drive that through spend efficiency and they’re building a business that their customers really love.”
In addition to Lightspeed, Hungryroot is backed by L Catterton, Crosslink Capital, KarpReilly, and Lerer Hippeau. The company has raised a total of $75 million.
— CNBC Climate Producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this article.