EZ Lab’s food blockchain launched a successful crowdfunding campaign

EZ Lab’s best-known platform is called AgriOpenData. It was awarded at Smau in 2016 and applies blockchain technology to record, at every stage of the process, the data related to the development of food (from the field to the final sale), storing them safely and unalterably. Among the “products” that have chosen EZ Lab traceability to stand out, are cases such as the Pachino tomato, Asiago, Riso Chiaro or Valpolicella Della Cantina Volpone.

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A new success was achieved by the SMEs

The innovative SMEs has achieved a new success a few days ago: the equity crowdfunding campaign on Mamacrowd, launched on February 18th, is having impressive results and has exceeded $111,000 (€100,000) in a week, equal to half of the minimum target set at $222,000 (€200,000) in 60 days, expiring on April, 20th (the maximum target is $555,000 (€500,000)).

A milestone on a growing path: founded in 2014 in the university incubator Galileo Visionary District in Padua, Ez Lab has now two offices abroad, in the Thrive incubator in California and in Reims, France, and has carried out about 40 traceability projects on supply chains such as wine, beer, cheese, rice, soy, and pumpkin.

EZ Lab partnership with IBM Food Trust

EZ Lab is also a business partner of IBM Food Trust, IBM’s blockchain platform for the retail sector, and is involved in testing digital technology at 5G in L’Aquila, thanks to a project with Wind Tre. “Our activity consists in making the value of a product visible. We are among the first to have successfully applied the blockchain to the real economy, establishing a direct relationship of trust between producer and consumer,” explained the founder Massimo Morbiato.

The company employs managers, agronomists and oenologists, computer scientists, communication and marketing experts. In the agri-food sector, the acquisition of data begins in the field (or breeding), continues in the phase of processing the raw material up to the phase of packaging, transport, and delivery. Thanks to a QR code on the packaging, anyone can trace the history of the product.

Self-certification mechanism

“Let’s take some practical examples. such as the case of Asiago milk. First of all, the system traces the data relating to the breeding of cows, from the origin to the living conditions of the animals. From there, it goes on to the cheese processing and the sale phase. The same applies to wine: the platform contains information on the identity of the company, the production regulations, the agricultural land, the development time of the cultivation, the treatments applied, the collection and the subsequent stages of processing,” explained Morbiato.

The whole mechanism is based on self-certification. The blockchain is, in fact, comparable to a large digital register, a shared database to which data can be added and which everyone can access, but which cannot be modified and whose security is guaranteed by encryption. “Reputation is the value that sustains the entire system,” explained Morbiato. Precisely because it is irremovable, the system makes the information entered verifiable even over time.

Ez Lab aims to expand towards other sectors

If in the agri-food sector in Italy, Ez Lab has a leadership position. The crowdfunding campaign will allow expansion towards other sectors: textile, energy, real estate, insurance, but also logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and legal. The business plan presented to investors foresees the subscription of 7 joint ventures in as many sectors within three years. Three of these will be underwritten by 2020.

Participation in the crowdfunding campaign is open to everyone, with a minimum investment set at around $277 (€250) which gives the right to a tax deduction of 30%.

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(Featured image by Heder Neves via Unsplash)

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First published in 24 ORE, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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