Nuvilab uses the latest tech to tackle age-old issue of food waste

South Korea’s food data analysis firm Nuvilab, Inc. is not a household name – at least yet.

The startup is rather familiar to investors at home and abroad, however, for incorporating artificial intelligence-powered image analysis in the food and beverage sector. 

In just over three years since its launch, the startup has received funding from a number of South Korean VC heavyweights, namely Naver D2 Startup Factory, We Ventures Ltd. Korea Investment Partners Co., and Capstone Partners, Inc. 

The Tech Incubator Program for Startup Korea (TIPS) has also provided funds. 

Last year, it received an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from various VCs. It plans to secure 8 billion won worth of sales this year, expecting exponential growth in two years to reach 100 billion won in sales by 2024. 

FROM CARS TO FOOD 

Founded by two former engineers of Hyundai Motor Co., the company uses two methods for food waste analysis.

CEO Kim Dae-hoon and CTO Ru Jey-yoon worked as researchers on image analysis and camera sensor technology for Hyundai cars. 

Since leaving the automotive giant, the two founders have developed food scanners and sensors to be put at cafeteria food line-ups and at the plate return windows to analyze food waste by volume and type. 

The food scanner uses deep learning technology to distinguish foodstuffs based on thousands of images; while the sensor estimates the volume of food still left on the plates. 

The company claims that within a single second, the scanners and sensors can detect and analyze the leftover food with over 95% accuracy.

“We saw an average of 30% reduction in food waste at the client sites,” shared Kim. 

GROWING ADOPTION 

Kim hopes to expand the clientele base in the B2G (business to government) sector; although the company currently mostly caters to private schools and businesses. 

The Nuvilab service is operating at 22 school cafeterias in South Korea, as well as at a military mess hall and a few government agencies. 

“Literally no one thought leaving a research position at a chaebol to launch a startup in foodtech was a good idea,” Kim said.

But who's laughing now, with major conglomerates as his clients?

SK Telecom Co. announced last week that it will collaborate with Nuvilab on its Zero Waste campaign. 

To make the experience more interactive, the company has set up dashboards at the canteen that chart its daily progress in the environmentally friendly campaign. 

Last month, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. selected Nuvilab and two other startups as its collaboration partners, as part of its ongoing efforts to support the country’s startup scene. 

Nuvilab services will be available to users of its Hi Health Challenge app in limited capacity.

CJ Freshway Corp. was one company well ahead of its peers in adopting image analysis technology. In July 2021, it teamed up with Nuvilab to jointly develop a dietary management service for daycare centers. 

By next year, the foodtech startup hopes to venture out to overseas markets, particularly the United States. 

Last month, Nuvilab was invited to participate at Microsoft’s Innovation Summit in Seattle as the only South Korean startup there. 

At CES 2021, the company was an honoree of the Innovation Award in the Healthcare and Sustainability sector. 

Write to Jee Abbey Lee at jal@hankyung.com