Sustainability ingredient database HowGood has secured $12.5 million in a funding round to expand in the United States and Europe and build out its platform.
Titan Grove led the funding round announced Wednesday with participation from FirstMark and other existing investors.
Brooklyn, New York-based HowGood started with a platform based on R&D to find more sustainable suppliers and practices specifically for new consumer packaged goods and food products. It then added capabilities to track sustainability metrics for individual ingredients.
HowGood plans to use the funds to triple its team, expand industry partnerships in the U.S. and Europe and build out datasets within its platform.
The company aims to expand its capacity to support more clients and enhance its capabilities for reporting scope 3 (supply chain) greenhouse gas emissions and tracking suppliers’ specific sustainability claims. The funds will also support HowGood’s expansion beyond its focus on the food industry, Ethan Soloviev, chief innovation officer at HowGood, told FreightWaves.
Reducing environmental and social impacts of companies’ supply chains, improving transparency and providing data to source more sustainable ingredients are among HowGood’s main goals.
HowGood’s sustainability platform
The company closed a $6 million funding round in February 2021 and added a procurement module to its sustainability platform in February 2022.
“Our sustainability intelligence platform, Latis, indicates to brands and retailers how and where to make changes throughout the food product life cycle to improve holistic sustainability, using data that is not available in any other platform,” Soloviev said.
Five out of the 10 largest CPGs, including Danone North America, are using Latis to improve produce impact, Soloviev said. Other leading food and beverage retailers, suppliers and restaurants such as Shake Shack, Chipotle and Ahold Delhaize USA are also using the platform.
“Currently, there is no product on the market that can support procurement teams in researching ingredient sustainability specs and identifying new, more sustainable suppliers at the scale that Latis delivers,” Soloviev added.
HowGood’s Latis platform received an honorable mention in the climate and food categories of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.
Consumers demanding more sustainable products
A Johnson Controls brand survey by Sensormatic Solutions found that 81% of consumers are concerned or very concerned about the environment’s future.
About 70% of consumers said they would be willing to pay a premium of 5% or more for products that demonstrated they had a sustainable supply chain. “This survey speaks to a belief we’ve long held: Prioritizing sustainable solutions is simply good business,” Kim Melvin, global leader of marketing at Sensormatic Solutions, said in a statement.
HowGood said its platform is a “singular, comprehensive solution” that can provide food brands and retailers with insights into product impact. Latis can show companies what changes in a food product’s life cycle may improve its sustainability.
“Through Latis, the food industry now has the much-needed tools and metrics to drive environmental resource efficiency and social impact. We are proud to support HowGood’s talented and inspired team in their mission to positively transform the global food system,” Jeffrey Tannenbaum, founder of Titan Grove, said in a release.
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