Activa, edible coatings for preserving fruits and vegetables

The loss of agricultural products annually causes irreparable damage to the country’s economic dimension. According to reports, Iran ranks first in the field of fruit waste. Studies have also shown that more than 30% of agricultural products annually due to the use of traditional methods, weak technology, lack of modern methods, lack of professional transportation systems and… conversion into waste be. This shows the importance of using technology and developing inefficient methods in the past, because if the necessary attention is paid, a large part of the food of millions of people will be provided and at the same time the loss of national capital can be prevented. Startup Activa, as a nature supporter, has been created to provide effective ways to prevent waste of fruits, vegetables and deal with the production of waste due to their premature deterioration. We suggest Accomotive talk with Khashayar Safapour, technical director and co-founder Active follow:

Who is the technical director of Activa appointed to?

I am Khashayar Safapour, born in 1996, I graduated from Kharazmi University in Tehran with a bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry. Their work experiences in fields such as, activities in the Iranian Association of Detergent and Cosmetic Industries, cooperation with the Nano and Stem Cell Headquarters in the Vice President for Science and Technology, cooperation with the Iranian Chemical Association in holding events in the field Catalyst, Environment and Green Chemistry, I have been a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Scientific Student Union of Chemistry and I have spent some time as an intern in the Center for Extracts and Effective Materials of University Jihad in Alborz Science and Technology Park. I also had the experience of participating in projects related to chemistry, food and the environment in the form of internships and collaborations. I am currently working as a technical manager and co-founder of Startup Activa. Activa’s technical manager is in fact in charge of product development and does the work of R&D, the startup of Activa. After a continuous process of product research and development, it offers cost-effective products to meet customer needs and market competitive advantage.

What is Activa and what problems does it solve?

Startup Activa offers solutions to reduce agricultural, horticultural and food waste by 30%. In fact, we have developed an edible coating that, at an affordable cost, after spraying on fruits and vegetables, forms a thin layer on their surface, and this completely natural and edible layer is able to maintain the quality of fruits for a long time. And increase vegetables.

What happened when Activa was born?

We, the founders of Activa, during the research and studies related to the increase in the amount of waste in the agricultural and food industries in the country, realized the effects of the problems and damages that this issue has caused on all dimensions of the country. After that, we decided to address this issue, and Activa was launched to support farmers, increase the quality of horticultural products and prevent wastage of their crops. Startup Activa has been operating since 1997.

For what purposes was Activa created?

According to the estimates obtained from official statistics in our country, the volume of fruit and vegetable production is over 24 million tons per year, of which at least 30% of them are turned into waste, and this leads to the loss of a huge amount of material. Food, water and energy. Also, approximately 90% of the country’s water consumption is allocated to irrigation of agricultural lands, and this issue has faced serious risks to groundwater resources, as a result of which crises such as drought and water shortage occur. Activa’s goals are to prevent such incidents, waste and waste of fruits and vegetables.

What services does your business offer?

Activa offers the food coating product, in addition to offering services such as training, product information, consulting and guidance to its customers in order to reduce waste throughout the production and distribution chain. On the other hand, in line with its goals, in the field of transmission chain, cold stores and fruit warehouses, it provides advice and training to people so that they can reduce the amount of waste in their products.

What are the features and benefits of Activa oral coating?

The advantages of Activa food coating can be mentioned as four: the first is that it has an affordable price, besides, the raw materials of Activa food coating are composed of completely natural sources, the orality of this coating and its acceptable performance from Other advantages. On the other hand, we provide services and advice to customers along with our products.

Is Active Oral Cover Affordable for Large Fruits?

Yes, Activa oral coverage in large volumes is quite economical. In fact, it can be said that as the amount of customer orders increases, so does the cost of production and the price of the product for us and the customer. Activa also intends in the future to be able to produce a large amount of its products without technical problems in the production and supply of raw materials.

Are the compounds in Activa products chemically based?

Harmful and dangerous substances are usually called chemicals in society, while in chemistry all substances are chemicals, for example, water, wood, sugar and… chemicals include different types of chemicals. Among them are natural, edible and safe chemicals such as water and food, dangerous as well, toxins that cause side effects. If I want to answer the question from the same point of view, I have to say, no, Activa is not made on the basis of chemicals. Activa is based on natural and food ingredients that do not cause a lot of side effects and problems for the consumer.

From which organizations have your products received the necessary approvals?

Our products are in the pilot stage and have not yet entered the mass industrial production stage. Although we are providing the infrastructure, we have also received the necessary approvals from reference laboratories, partner laboratories of the Standards and Food and Drug Administration, as well as customer guilds. I hope we can turn the industrial production of our products in a smoother direction.

What steps did you take to obtain the relevant permits?

As I mentioned before, we are providing industrial production infrastructure, in addition to which we have successfully tested our products. After providing the required infrastructure and capital, we will pass additional tests and at the end we will proceed to obtain the relevant permits.

What are the economic and environmental benefits of using Activa products?

The use of Activa products causes less agricultural products to be converted into waste and waste generated in the transmission and distribution chain is reduced; In this way, the total profit of the farmer and the distributor increases. On the other hand, it leads to reducing food consumption costs, preserving national resources and better dealing with the potential problem of malnutrition in Iran. In terms of environmental effects, because Activa products are made of natural materials, they do not accumulate in nature, they also store more water and energy. In fact, Activa also helps by increasing the shelf life of products in the export ring and economic growth.

What ups and downs have you encountered in starting your business?

In the course of starting our business, we faced various problems, such as: technical product development, required capital, customer relations, laboratory space and equipment required. We also experienced many challenges, including scientific and technical aspects, team, research and development, market analysis, and so on. Now, after 3 years of efforts, we have been successful in solving these types of challenges and crisis management.

Who does your team consist of?

The key members of our team consist of the co-founders, including, myself as the technical manager of the team, Ms. Mahdieh Fathipour in charge of the executive department, Mr. Mehdi Fathipour in the business development and fundraising department and also Ms. Kimia Dezfuli who is in charge They are in charge of marketing and marketing. Other people working in the Activa team work with us in the field of marketing and research and development.

What specialties has the Activa team used to improve its services?

The members of the Activa team are highly proficient in their expertise and skills and work in the fields of chemistry, food, biotechnology, marketing and business development. The cooperation of a team of experts in Activa has caused the progress of the work to be faster.

What has been the achievement of attending Inotex exhibition for you?

Attending the Inotex exhibition had several achievements for us, the first was connecting with a number of medium and large scale customers, some of whom attended the Inotex exhibition and visited our booth, and the second was establishing better connections with our startup partners. They were active and, for example, we can mention people active in the field of business development and supply of raw materials, some of whom we worked with to prepare laboratory equipment. Third, we were able to provide our services and startups to the country’s startup community. Show that as a result, a number of investors, developers and accelerators have expressed a willingness to work with us, and we are now in talks with a number of them. In general, participating in the Inotex event was very useful for Activa in terms of customer relationship, technical and scientific, product presentation and communication with accelerators and investors, and led to significant output.

What feedback have you encountered after winning second place in Inotex Pitch?

Winning second place at Inotex provided us with good feedback and benefits, for example, improving communication with investors and accelerators, increasing the trust of small consumers and major customers, as well as our team cohesion and work motivation. The route improved.

What awards has Aktiva won nationally and internationally?

Activa has participated in various events, such as the 100 Startup Launch Platform Event, the Provincial Event Inotex screw, The national event of Inotex and also in the stage of absorbing ideas in the Energy Research Institute of Sharif University has been successful. We will be looking for more success at the domestic level and we also have plans for progress at the international level, as a result of which we will be able to participate in a number of international events from 2022.

What steps does Activa currently have in mind to export and commercialize its products?

Today in our country, food exports are considered as a substitute for oil revenues, and the issue of waste and reducing the quality of exported fruits is one of the challenges for exporters. Indirect export of our products is that the active food coating is sprayed on the fruits and then the fruits are exported. At present, one of our target markets in the first step is to communicate with fruit exporters from all over the world, fruit export associations and organizations, so that we will be able to launch indirect exports of our products. In the next step, we will use the franchise and white branding model to export our products directly to neighboring countries.

Do you have a competitor or foreign example in your field of activity?

Yes, our product has a competitor and a foreign sample. In Turkey, there are bags that improve fruit respiration, in the United States, there is an apple product that reduces waste and does not spoil avocado fruit. Israel has also taken serious steps to reduce agricultural waste and fruit. We also consider our foreign models and competitors and try to have better performance and more reasonable prices than these foreign competitors and models.

Are these foreign samples sold in Iran?

There are examples of foreign products in Iran, which are different in nature from Activa solution but pursue the same goals, for example, fruit storage bags made in Turkey. Of course, these products are not cost-effective, they have a mediocre performance, and their raw materials are not made from food.

Another of our competitors is Apple, which is located in the United States. This product has not yet entered the industrial production stage, nor is it found in our country and neighboring countries, in addition, the Apple product is far from the final supply stage.

What collections have you supported so far?

To date, we have received direct support from the Campus Science and Technology Park, Sharif University Energy Research Institute, the Ama Accelerator, and a collection of 100 startups, as well as indirect support from various private and public groups. In fact, the sum of all these supports has led to the advancement of our goals and the provision of appropriate services.

What are your plans for growing your business?

We believe that mastering the subject of agricultural, horticultural and food waste more and more will help us to provide better services and products, for which we will see the growth and development of our business. Our other plans are to launch all the products under development, test their market and offer them according to customer needs. We can further expand our business relationships with customers and suppliers of raw materials, expand our team, and benefit from the support of venture capitalists and various business development groups in this field.