An interview with Alex Bond and John Simpson, founders of Fresh Check, one of Forward Fooding’s top 500 Food Tech startups.

Alex Bond and John Simpson, founders of Fresh Check

It’s time to put a face to the name…

We asked our FoodTech 500 top-runners to give us a bit of insight into how they started out as a company and their thoughts on the role of technology in Food innovation. Meet Alex and John, co-founder superstars of Fresh Check, confirming the hygiene of food facilities with a colour change spray. Let’s see what they had to say.

So tell us a little bit more about you! Where did the idea for your FoodTech company come from?

Alex and John: We originally came up with Fresh Check when we were PhD students. We’d seen some of our friends win funding for a business idea they’d had so we decided to have a go ourselves. So, in a room filled with Pepsi and KitKat Chunkys we brainstormed some ideas. The ideas ranged from smarter lifts to woodworm repellent, but eventually we landed on something we all felt passionate about – Food Waste.

As students, we knew how precious expensive food was, and all of us had risked eating out of date food to save money. So we got to thinking about how we could detect food spoilage in a better way than the use-by date. After long hours of research, we finally developed our first colour-change label that was able to accurately warn about milk spoilage.

The smart use-by label got a lot of traction, but ultimately the business model behind it wasn’t profitable so we pivoted our technology. By this point we were well acquainted with the food industry, and knew there was only 1 test available for on the spot hygiene verification. We took our colour change technology, repackaged it into a spray & set to work helping companies cut costs & improve hygiene standards!

How is tech central to your business?

Alex and John: The colour change technology that we have developed is central to Fresh Check. Whether in a spray or wipe form, the chemistry underpinning the colour change reaction is fundamental for our work!

Why do you think it’s important to see the food industry embrace tech?

Alex and John: Growing populations & concerns about antibiotic resistance mean that the food industry must be safer & more efficient than ever. With rapidly changing regulations, customer demands & public awareness of issues surrounding the food industry, companies must continue to embrace new methods. Technology offers more efficient & affordable ways to ensure that food production can meat demand whilst reducing the negative effects that the food industry has on our environment. As all markets across the globe look to become more environmentally friendly & limit risk, the food industry must embrace tech to avoid being left behind.

 

 

Want to know more? Check out Fresh Check’s full profile here.

Congratulations again to Fresh Check for ranking eighth in the category “Food Safety and Traceability” of the Foodtech 500 list!

To find out who else made it into the FoodTech 500; the top Food Tech companies in the world, click here.

For more FoodTech news, join our Food Revolution community here.