Seafood traceability platform BlueTrace has confirmed an additional US$ 3.2 million in seed funding, bringing the company’s fundraising total up to $4.1 million.
The latest round was led by York IE, Maine Venture Fund and Coastal Enterprise Ventures, with participation from various angel investors, including SeaAhead.
“Sustainable seafood is great for our communities, our planet, and our health,” BlueTrace CEO Chip Terry said. “Our mission is to keep the seafood supply chain safe, efficient, and compliant by digitising key transactions to make seamless traceability possible. We have a long list of desired features from our clients – this new funding will help us deliver them.”
Joe Raczka, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at York IE, has joined BlueTrace’s board of directors. Raczka will collaborate with existing board members Abigail Carroll, an oyster farmer turned investor and podcaster, and Dave Ford, a tech entrepreneur and angel investor.
“BlueTrace is bringing a unique digital solution to a traditionally non-digital, tech-laggard industry,” Raczka said. “Chip and the rest of the talented team have proven their product market fit and will continue improving the seafood landscape.”
After identifying a need to manage and track harvests in the shellfish market more effectively, Terry and his partners founded BlueTrace, formerly known as Oyster Tracker, in 2018. After initial traction with shellfish harvesters and distributors, BlueTrace has begun expanding its digital platform to support the broader seafood landscape.
Seafood organisations can use BlueTrace’s cloud-based solutions from their smartphones to create logs (harvest, HACCP, receiving, shipping, cooling etc.) and tag their products. The system allows the easy track and trace of shipments. A regulatory rules engine increases compliance while reducing redundant paperwork.
“BlueTrace is a game-changer that’s meeting the unique needs of the seafood industry,” said Joe Lasprogata, Vice President, New Product Development at Samuels Seafood. “Our company moves millions of pounds of seafood each year, which obviously means a lot of moving parts. BlueTrace’s platform helps us organise our shipments and give us confidence that we’re staying compliant.”
BlueTrace announced 121% growth in 2022, expanding its customer base from 150 clients to over 350.
The company has won two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from US fishery regulator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
