Berlin-based food company KoRo has acquired the intellectual property of supply chain transparency software firm Seedtrace, securing exclusive usage rights to a platform built specifically for the food and beverage sector. The deal covers the IP only; the Seedtrace team is not included in the transaction.
KoRo was founded in Berlin in 2014 and sells nut butters, dried fruit, clean-label snacks and functional foods through its own online shop and brick-and-mortar retail across several European countries. The B Corp-certified company has steadily increased the vegan share of its range, reaching 89% by April 2025, and in November 2024 secured €35 million in an oversubscribed Series C round led by Coefficient Capital.
How the technology works
Seedtrace’s platform allows producers to manage data, documents and questionnaires directly within the system, with geo-data and primary information such as farmer details captured at origin. Payments to smallholder farmers are automatically validated and stored on a blockchain, and the resulting supply chain information can be made available to end consumers via QR codes on packaging or through a direct link from the online shop.
KoRo has set out a phased integration, beginning with static mapping of selected supply chains focused on countries of origin and processing, before progressively extending the system into deeper layers of its sourcing network.
“The Seedtrace technology is an important strategic building block for us to take supply-chain transparency at KoRo, and perhaps beyond it across the entire food industry, to a new level in the long term,” said Florian Schwenkert, CEO of KoRo.
“It not only enables us to precisely document all activities and steps along complex supply chains, but also gives producers the opportunity to be actively involved by independently managing data, documents and questionnaires. This allows us to create transparency that goes far beyond today’s industry standards.”
An open-source future
While KoRo currently holds the exclusive rights to the IP, both parties have signalled that the longer-term ambition is to develop the platform as an open, community-supported model for the wider food industry, potentially as an open-source initiative.
“A lack of transparency must not be a business model,” said Katharina Elisa Davids, co-founder of Seedtrace. Co-founder Ana Selina Haberbosch added, “The fact that KoRo is acquiring our software underlines the relevance of our vision.”
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