On Industrifonden’s investment in TrusTrace- enabling transformation to a sustainable supply chain
October 14, 2021
We are proud to announce that we have led a 5 million euro investment round into TrusTrace together with Fairpoint Capital, with support from Fashion For Good and current owners Backing Minds. TrusTrace offers the globally leading platform for traceability and transparency in the supply chain. They already have customers such as Fjällräven, Filippa K, Coop and Decathlon and in the past year the company has grown over 350%.
Sustainability is finally becoming a priority in many companies, driven by increased regulations, shareholder pressure and most importantly from customers demanding sustainable options and better transparency. Fashion and food are two retail categories with a long history of negative environmental impact and questionable working conditions. Just the fashion industry accounts for around 10% of the global carbon emissions1.
Traceability and transparency in supply chains are fundamental to allow retailers to become sustainable. Creating full transparency and traceability in a complex multi-tier supply chain, all the way down to the cotton field or polyester fiber, is not an easy task. One of the difficult parts is collecting all the necessary data, sorting and analyzing it, as well as ensuring accuracy in validation. Many retail brands today struggle with this, leading to a lot of manual work, lack of transparency to customers, large fines for not being compliant, as well as large, negative tolls on the environment and the people and communities involved in the early and often unknown parts of the supply chain.
Becoming more sustainable as a Brand or Retailer reaps benefits beyond those of improving environmental and social conditions, although that in itself should justify the work inherent in making business models more sustainable. There is a proven financial benefit as well, as products marketed as sustainable have been proven to grow 5–6 times faster than those that are not2. Companies with an ESG-profile today are valued higher and can more easily attract talent. Transforming your business into a more sustainable one has become a business imperative.
Meet TrusTrace
At Industrifonden we seek out the most transformative ventures to invest in, those with the power to have a meaningful impact on society. This well describes TrusTrace that empowers companies to fully understand and take responsibility for the social and environmental impact of their supply chains.
TrusTrace offers a SaaS-platform that uses Bots, AI and Blockchain, and through its open architecture, it integrates seamlessly with clients and supplier systems, as well as those of third parties and other relevant stakeholders. With more than 8,000 suppliers, 250,000 products and over €10 billion worth of goods tracked in the platform; it is a business critical platform for companies who see sustainability as a great opportunity.
With this round of funding, TrusTrace will accelerate its international mission to help retailers become more sustainable through transparency and traceability. We are honored to partner with such an excellent group of founders, with great passion and drive, as well as deep knowledge into sustainability in the supply chain. We look forward to working with you Shameek, Hrishi, Madhava and Saravanan, and to support your journey to become the first impact unicorn!
