Singapore wine cleantech start-up raises $10m

The round was supported by Wavemaker Partners, Temasek Holdings-owned Pavillion Capital, and Convivialite Ventures, a US-based VC arm of French wine major Pernod Richard. They were joined by food and agribusiness-focused Proterra Investment Partners.

Proterra closed its latest Asia food fund last November with USD 200m in commitments. It is the first fund raised by Proterra's Asia team since it was established as a standalone fund manager in Singapore. Tai Lin, a managing partner at Proterra Asia, described the need to “decarbonise diets and food supply chains” as part of the strategy.

EcoSpirits claims to have developed the first low-carbon, low-waste distribution technology for the premium spirits and wine industry globally. This is a closed-loop system said to decrease emissions associated with spirits by 60% to 90% while nearly eliminating packaging waste in the supply chain. The system is also touted as maintaining product quality and reducing logistics costs.

Since its inception in 2018, EcoSpirits has expanded its operations to 15 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, where it partners with brands, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and venues. In addition to Pernod Richard, partners include UK beverage giant Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Smirnoff.

The company will use the latest funding for hardware, software and internet-of-things R&D, as well as the development of Intelligent Circular, a Wi-Fi-enabled distribution system currently being piloted in Southeast Asia. There are also plans to grow the geographic footprint to 25 countries in the near term, while expanding customer and engineering teams in the US, UK, Singapore, and China.

“There is immense opportunity to scale circular solutions across the supply chain for premium spirits and wine,” Bennett Cohen, a managing director at Closed Loop who will join the EcoSpirits board, said in a statement. “Through their innovative reusable packaging technology, EcoSpirits is leading the transition to a less wasteful future for the industry – one that is not dependent on carbon-intensive single use glass.”

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Cleantech
• Technology
• Consumer
• Support services
• Singapore
• Temasek Holdings
• Proterra Investment Partners
• Wavemaker Partners
• food & beverage
• Logistics