Most People Don’t Know What’s On Their Produce

Hi there,

We’re Apeel Sciences. Maybe you’ve seen our name on a produce sticker or heard we’re the company that helps your avocados stay fresh longer. That’s part of our story but it’s far from the whole thing.

Apeel was founded by scientists who believed something simple: fresh, healthy food shouldn’t be a luxury. Food waste, hunger, and affordability are solvable problems when science works with nature instead of against it. What started in a garage has grown into an American innovation company determined to make food fresher, safer, and more abundant for everyone.

Earlier this year, one of our co-founders, Jenny Du, took the TED stage to share that story — how Apeel began, the challenges we’ve faced, and the future we’re working toward. She gets into why shelf-life extension matters, what’s happening behind the scenes in the post-harvest industry, and why transparency has become such a central part of our mission. It’s a great place to learn more about how we got here and where we’re headed next.

Behind every perfect-looking apple or bright mandarin is an $11 billion post-harvest industry built on chemical washes, waxes, plastics, fungicides, and plant-hormone inhibitors that maintain appearance, not actual freshness. Most consumers have no idea this industry exists, let alone what’s routinely used on produce in the U.S. supply chain. Our founder, James Rogers, has been talking about this openly on X.

We think people deserve to know.

We also think they deserve better options.

Apeel’s plant-based protection is made from ingredients found in the peels, seeds, and pulp of fruits and vegetables we already eat. These everyday food ingredients have been safely used for decades and are affirmed by some of the world’s most trusted regulators. We built Apeel so families could have real freshness, real transparency, and a natural alternative to the hidden treatments the industry relies on.

As many of you know, the past couple of years haven’t been quiet ones. A coordinated and well-resourced disinformation campaign targeted Apeel across social platforms by misusing safety documents from unrelated chemicals, spreading copy-and-paste false claims, and monetizing fear for clicks. The damage has been real:

• Retailers backed away from innovation under pressure

• Consumers were misled about what’s on their food

• Our company lost partners, business, and people

• American households lost access to a safer, fresher option

We haven’t found another disinformation story in the food space that matches the scale or impact of what happened to Apeel. The campaign did real harm to our company and the people who work here, and it also deprived American consumers of access to a safer, fresher option. The consequences underscored how quickly coordinated falsehoods can distort markets, influence public behavior, and weaken trust in innovation.

For a long time, we tried to address the situation quietly by correcting the record, supplying facts, and assuming good-faith engagement from the industry around us. Over time, it became clear that transparency could not remain optional. That is why we are speaking about this openly now. Consumers deserve accurate information, and they deserve better choices than the ones shaped by fear and misinformation.

This shift toward openness is reflected across our leadership. Luiz Beling, our CEO, spoke recently on the Leaders on a Mission podcast about what it has meant to lead through disruption, rebuild trust, and reset the company with greater focus and speed.

The conversation is shifting. People are asking what’s actually on their food, how the post-harvest system really works, and why these conversations weren’t happening sooner.

That momentum is why we’re launching Food Fight.

This is where you’ll get the inside scoop on how innovation and transparency are reshaping what’s on your plate. You’ll see:

• Company Updates: Progress, new partnerships, and milestones as we grow and expand.

• Industry Insights: Honest commentary on the post-harvest industry and the food system at large.

• Innovation and Impact: A glimpse into how American ingenuity and plant-based science are making food fresher and more abundant.

This isn’t just about one company. It’s about whether American innovation can survive coordinated attacks. It’s about whether truth can beat fear. It’s about protecting families’ ability to make informed choices in the grocery aisle.

Apeel was founded to combat food waste, improve access to fresh produce, and strengthen the American food system. Those goals haven’t changed. If anything, the past few years have made them more urgent.

If you care about transparency, trustworthy innovation, and fresher food for more people, you’re in the right place.

Welcome to the Food Fight.

— The Apeel Team

Food Fight is a space for honest conversation about the post-harvest industry, the challenges created by coordinated disinformation, and the work Apeel Sciences is doing to restore trust and choice in the food system. We focus on transparency, science, and American innovation, sharing updates, context, and insights that help explain what is on our food and why it matters. Our mission is to help build a future where consumers have clearer information, better options, and a food system that reflects both integrity and progress.

To learn more about Apeel, visit our website at apeel.com and follow our latest updates on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.