The system was originally developed for the oyster aquaculture sector
The round was led by York IE, Maine Venture Fund, and Coastal Enterprise Ventures, with participation from various angel investors, including SeaAhead.
“Sustainable seafood is great for our communities, our planet, and our health,” said Chip Terry, CEO of the startup, in a press release. “Our mission is to keep the seafood supply chain safe, efficient, and compliant by digitising key transactions to make seamless traceability possible. We have a long list of desired features from our clients — this new funding will help us deliver them.”
Joe Raczka, co-founder and managing partner at York IE, has joined BlueTrace’s board of directors. Raczka will collaborate with existing board members Abigail Carroll, an oyster farmer turned investor and podcaster, and Dave Ford, a tech entrepreneur and angel investor.
“BlueTrace is bringing a unique digital solution to a traditionally non-digital, tech-laggard industry,” Raczka said. “Chip and the rest of the talented team have proven their product market fit and will continue improving the seafood landscape.”
After identifying a need to manage and track harvests in the shellfish market more effectively, Terry and his partners founded BlueTrace, formerly known as Oyster Tracker, in 2018. After initial traction with shellfish harvesters and distributors, BlueTrace has begun expanding its digital platform to support the broader seafood landscape.
Seafood organisations of any size can use BlueTrace’s cloud-based solutions from their smartphones to create logs (harvest, HACCP, receiving, shipping, cooling, etc.) and tag their products. The system empowers frontline employees to easily track and trace shipments. A regulatory rules engine increases compliance while reducing redundant paperwork.
In November, the FDA announced the final food traceability rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act, which will begin to take effect in 2023. BlueTrace already enables seafood businesses to comply with these increasingly stringent requirements.
“BlueTrace is a game-changer that’s meeting the unique needs of the seafood industry,” said Joe Lasprogata, vice president, new product development at Samuels Seafood. “Our company moves millions of pounds of seafood each year, which obviously means a lot of moving parts. BlueTrace’s platform helps us organise our shipments and gives us confidence that we’re staying compliant. ”
BlueTrace announced 121 percent growth in 2022, expanding its customer base from 150 clients to over 350 – covering all but two coastal US states and most Canadian provinces,
