The organic fertilizer company EcoScraps has received a $500,000 loan from RSF Social Finance, a financial services organization that provides funding for nonprofits and social enterprises.
The loan will help EcoScraps, a three-year-old company that makes organic, chemical- and manure-free lawn and garden products, expand its network of waste management partnerships and increase its exposure in retail outlets around the United States.
“EcoScraps is producing a great product with an innovative business model,” said Mike Gabriel, a lending manager at RSF who was involved with the deal.
“The U.S. composting business is highly fragmented,” he continued. “EcoScraps is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this fragmented market, by building partnerships with large, established waste management firms on the supply side and large retailers on the sell side—linking them within a relatively short distance.”
EcoScraps makes its gardening products from 100 percent food waste and claims its products include double the soil nutrients of typical manure and chemical-based products. Using a new infrastructure model for creating organic compost, EcoScraps has recycled 15.2 million pounds of food waste, diverting over 120 tons daily.
“We look forward to using this loan to expand our reach and continue innovating products that will benefit both consumers and the environment,” said Dan Blake, who came up with the idea for EcoScraps after noticing the large amount of food being thrown away at an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.
Founded by Blake and Craig Martineau in 2010, EcoScraps currently sells its products in over 1,500 stores nationwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Utah, Ariz., Texas and Calif.
In July, 2012 the company received $1.5 million in series A venture financing led by Utah-based KickStart together with Calif.-based DBL Investors and Utah-based Peterson Ventures.
“We’ve seen tremendous success at EcoScraps thus far, and we are grateful for RSF’s investment in our next chapter,” added Blake.
Since 1984, RSF Social Finance has made more than $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to organizations working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship.
Image Credit: °Florian, Flickr
