Fenugreen, 2013’s SB Innovation Open winner and creator of the potentially game-changing food-saving innovation FreshPaper, is one of 10 startup finalists in contention for the most coveted of TV spots: a Super Bowl ad.
On September 2, FreshPaper was announced as a finalist in the intuitQuickBooksSmall Business Big Game contest. The voting period continues through November 3, and the final three startups will be announced on November 4. You can vote daily, without signing up for anything. The winning company’s commercial will run during the Super Bowl on February 7, 2016.
FreshPaper looks like an ordinary square of paper, but extends the life of fresh produce by 2-4 times thanks to a unique blend of spices that naturally inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, as well as slow down the ripening process. The sheets can be placed in drawers, cartons and bags of produce to keep the food fresh throughout the supply chain.
FreshPaper inventor and social entrepreneur Kavita Shukla has brought the company a long way from its beginnings as a middle school science project and $300 of startup funding three years ago; FreshPaper is now distributed to grocers, food banks and consumers in over 35 countries, include Whole Foods, Bed Bath and Beyond, ACE Hardware and Sprouts here in the US. In 2013, the company won both the SB Innovation Open and the INDEX award, the world’s largest prize for design, and Shukla was featured in Forbes’ 2014 30 Social Entrepreneurs Under 30. FreshPaper has also grabbed the attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and director Bryce Dallas Howard, who featured Shukla in an episode of her INSPIRED short film series about extraordinary women.
“This is an incredible opportunity that would help us make fresh, healthy eating more accessible and affordable than ever before,” Shukla said. "When I set up a stall at my local farmers’ market, after trying and failing for years to bring my idea to the world, I could never have imagined that one day we'd have a chance to share our vision for a better food system with 100 million people during the Super Bowl."
By voting for FreshPaper to be featured in an ad during Super Bowl 50, you can help FreshPaper continue its efforts to actively work to reduce food waste around the world.