At Forward Fooding, we believe in the power of innovation and collaboration to power the food tech revolution and transform our food system. That’s why we’re delighted to have DOLE Sunshine Company as one of our gold sponsors in the FoodTech 500 2021 edition. We interviewed Barbara Guerpillon, Global Head of Dole Ventures, to discover more about their dedication to innovation, their thoughts on the current food system, and why they’re as excited by the FoodTech 500 as we are.

About DOLE SUNSHINE COMPANY

Can you please briefly introduce Dole and its mission for anyone who doesn’t know the company?

For 170 years, Dole’s mission has been to deliver high-quality fresh fruit with a positive impact based on the interdependence between people, the planet and prosperity. We at the Dole Sunshine Company are on a mission to bring more “Sunshine for All.” We announced “The Dole Promise” in 2020, our six-prong promise to increase access to sustainable nutrition, decrease food waste, plastics in packaging and carbon emissions, and grow value for the company’s stakeholders.

What are the main challenges that Dole is currently facing as a company?

We are committed to increasing access to good nutrition and reduction of waste. Soil health and nutrition is one of our burning platforms together with eliminating fossil-fuel-based plastics present in our operations. The challenge is to transform our supply chain and agricultural practices into a sustainable model. We acknowledge we can’t do it alone and we are looking for entrepreneurs with innovative technologies as we have identified key priorities to start with. This includes a wide range of processes and operations as food travels from our plantations to your table: Crop health and nutrition, food and waste, food safety and traceability, etc….. We will start focusing on a few areas that we can control and will directly impact our business, people and planet. 

In 2020 Dole announced ‘The Dole Promise’, with its three pillars around nutrition, sustainability and the creation of shared value. Can you tell us more about this initiative and how you are planning to achieve these objectives?

The promise is built upon the interdependent goals of doing business in a way that provides better care for people and the planet, while also increasing value and opportunities to all involved along the food and supply chain. Our six highly ambitious commitments are good nutrition for 1 billion people, zero processed sugar in all our products, zero fruit loss, zero fossil-based plastic primary packaging, carbon-neutral operations and shared value for all stakeholders. The deadlines we set are short – all within the next nine years, and most within the next four. 

Achieving the commitments and providing a sustainable future for all is something that we know that we cannot do alone. We have joined forces with partners like Future Food Network to innovate and collaborate on solutions to these problematic gaps in the value chain, as well as Hungry Artist David Datuna to create an NFT (non-fungible token) collection inspired by our Sunshine for All™ rallying cry, to name a few.

In addition, we launched the Sunshine for All™ Fund, a $2 million annual fund that supports global strategic partnerships and innovation in the crucial areas of sustainability, food access and waste. We’re continuously looking for talented innovators, promising start-ups, and progressive partners and encourage them to reach out here.

About The Future of Food: Where We’re Heading and Where We Want To Be

What do you hope to see in the next 50 years in the field of AgriFoodTech innovation, for sustainability and beyond? 

We hope to see food systems more efficient, inclusive and resilient with new collaborative circular models. I hope to see strengthened linkages between farms, markets and consumers with more transparency. I also hope to see the adoption of new technologies not only by big corporations but also by smallholder farmers that will potentially alleviate their carbon footprints and improve land usage. Sustainable and regenerative agriculture must be adopted by the majority and become the new normal to protect our soil. Food needs will change as well. We’ll see an acceleration of consumer interest towards more healthy, nutritious and good-for-the-planet food products. They are already seeking more information on where their food is sourced and how it is grown, for example, along with any related nutritional values. Biotechnologies, robotics, AI will play a critical role in food production, helping to improve crop performance and optimize resource use.

Why do you think it is important for the Food industry to embrace technology?

Technology is at the center of everything we do, from the safety and shelf life of our products, to lowering costs and labor, production times and more. We’re investing in farming technology that helps improve soil biodiversity at our farms, which helps with more yield and year-round supply, as well as employing new technology to measure water balance and soil moisture. 

Dole recently embarked on an innovative commercial partnership with Clarifruit, which has developed a next-gen quality control (QC) platform for fruits and vegetables. The AI-powered software platform uses advanced technology to automate fresh produce quality inspection and evaluation while analyzing factors such as size, color or any visible defects. We’re currently using the Clarifruit app in our fresh pineapple packing plants for pre-shipment inspection, as well as at the local markets for inspection upon arrival.

What areas of AgriFoodTech are you particularly interested in or excited about?

I’m particularly interested in areas that will help reduce our environmental impact from reducing our carbon footprint to improving our land and soil quality. I’m also particularly curious to see technologies around novel food & formats improving the nutritious value while answering the climate change imperative.

 

About the FoodTech 500: DOLE’s Sponsorship and Why It’s Important

What made you decide to become a sponsor for this year’s FoodTech 500?

Since our humble beginnings, Dole has always prioritized nutrition, sustainability, and the intersection of the two. Over the years, we’ve seen the important role technology plays in our business. With this being the world’s first list of global talent at the intersection between food, technology, and sustainability, we thought it fitting to join forces and celebrate others in the ever-growing industry. 

What role do you think partnerships and collaboration can play in creating a more resilient and sustainable Food System?

We can’t do this alone. With partnerships and collaboration, we believe we can make real change for the people, planet and future of our global food system. We’ve brought on external partners and auditors who can help keep us honest in achieving our goals and ensure we are seeking solutions in ways that are truly mutually beneficial to all involved. For example, we partner with Solidaridad, an organization whose aim is to improve the sustainability of global supply chains, to devise a sustainable sourcing model for fruits. The pandemic dramatically increased the amount of food insecurity, making it a key time for collaboration and action. 

How do you think the FoodTech 500 feeds into the vision of DOLE?

FoodTech 500 is spotlighting the top innovators in the industry. The FoodTech data navigator is a great tool to learn about new companies in the food ecosystem, from new investment opportunities, spot upcoming trends and more. It’s a great tool for us when looking at candidates for our Sunshine for All Fund, or like-minded partners to support the Dole Promise. 

What do you expect from this year’s finalist companies?

For the 2021 Edition of FoodTech 500 I’m expecting to see more core technologies that allow food systems to overcome traditional limitations such as climate, land and water, more specifically biotechnologies for both agriculture and food industry. I’m hoping to connect with entrepreneurs that will be inclined to work with companies like Dole.

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Want to learn more about the FOOD TECH 500?

Visit forwardfooding.com/foodtech500 to see the full list from the past editions, learn more about our methodology and how we are crafting the final ranking.

The final 2021 ranked list will be officially released on the 15th of February 2022.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform fostering innovation via FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate-startup Collaboration.