Hospitality VC Firm Branded Hospitality Ventures Makes First Food Safety Tech Bet with Starfish Investment

Branded's first investment in the traceability and food safety technology comes at a crucial time as industry adapts to new federal traceability requirements.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, November 18, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Branded Hospitality Ventures, the leading investment and solutions platform dedicated to the hospitality & foodservice industry announced today a strategic investment and partnership with Starfish Technologies, an innovative food traceability platform. Joining Branded in this investment is Waterpoint Lane, a venture capital firm focused on disruptive innovations that are transforming the food system through its expertise in foodtech and agritech. Together, Branded and Waterpoint Lane bring complementary strengths to advance Starfish Technologies' mission of redefining food transparency and safety.

This marks Branded's first investment in the traceability and food safety technology sector, coming at a crucial time as the industry adapts to new federal traceability requirements.

The partnership arrives as the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Section 204 introduces the most significant regulatory changes to food safety in decades. The new requirements mandate end-to-end traceability for high-risk foods throughout the supply chain, from farm to table.

"Food safety and traceability are non-negotiable priorities in our industry," said Jimmy Frischling, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Branded Hospitality Ventures. "Our investment and partnership in Starfish align perfectly with our mission to support transformative technologies in the foodservice and hospitality sectors. As the industry faces unprecedented regulatory challenges, Starfish's innovative ‘layer zero’ approach to supply chain traceability represents a critical solution."

Starfish's platform enables seamless data sharing across the food supply chain, allowing companies to maintain their existing technology solutions while facilitating automated and secure traceability data exchange with trading partners. This "layer-zero" solution is particularly crucial as the industry adapts to new FSMA 204 requirements.

The investment reflects Branded Hospitality Ventures' strategic expansion beyond its traditional restaurant technology focus. While restaurants are included in the law, the initial impact will be most significant for manufacturers, distributors, and farmers, with larger companies expected to lead adoption. "Food traceability is fundamentally about maintaining consumer trust and ensuring public safety," added Wiggs Civitillo, Founder & CEO of Starfish. "The stakes are particularly high for vulnerable populations, including young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Starfish's solution helps protect both public health and business interests by mitigating costly recalls and maintaining supply chain integrity."

This partnership represents a significant step forward in Branded's commitment to supporting technologies that address critical industry challenges while promoting food safety and supply chain transparency.

About Branded Hospitality:
Branded Hospitality (www.brandedstrategic.com) is the leading investment and solutions platform dedicated to the hospitality & foodservice industry. As experienced restaurant operators, hospitality experts, venture capitalists, strategic investors, advisors and corporate matchmakers, we leverage relationships with industry leading restaurant & hospitality operators, software vendors, and corporate enterprises to best create and capture value for our clients and partners.

About Starfish:
Starfish offers a universal foundation for supply chain data exchange, empowering businesses and solution providers to connect and share traceability data seamlessly across platforms. Starfish simplifies the complex task of data exchange by providing connectors that handle data translations on behalf of our clients. The platform translates data from diverse sources into the standardized GS1 protocol, ensuring consistent and reliable communication across all supply chain partners, regardless of their native data formats. https://www.starfish-network.com/

Julie Zucker
Branded Hospitality Ventures
julie@brandedstrategic.com