RipeTime arose from the vision of a technology for ultra-high sensitivity and a cost-efficient measurement of fresh produce, to drive a new level of expectation in the food waste problem, a detrimental presence across the whole primary sector.
Initially a New Zealand company, Innovators Ltd, researched the science and the approach to the detection of Ethylene in the produce sector. It was through a relationship with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and an under-graduate study that lead Jon Lowy and the team at Innovators to form RipeTime.
In October 2015, RipeTime implemented a trial in conjunction with SEEKA, one of New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit supply-chain operators. The trial was held at one of SEEKA’s cool-store environments in Te Puke, New Zealand. Two months later RipeTime passed a significant milestone; results from this trial on kiwifruit proved RipeTime technology was accurate and efficient. We were able to predict the level of ripeness across five pallets and rank them from worst to best. Our results were so significant, SEEKA applied our technology on a much larger scale for the 2016 season.
