The news
Loamy, a Los Angeles startup that sells operations software to produce growers, packers and distributors, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Zeal Capital Partners. The round, announced on Oct 27, brings its total funding to $10 million.
Slauson & Co., Supply Change Capital and Amplify.LA also invested.
A strawberry grower can spend about $35,000 to grow an acre of fruit and still lose a $40,000 load that misses a buyer’s specifications, co-founder and CEO Charles Julius said. “That is an information problem, and it is solvable.”
The details
Loamy’s software tracks produce from the field to the shipping dock, aiming to catch quality problems while there is still time to change the buyer. The company uses satellite imagery to track field lots and infrared analysis to spot browning before it becomes visible to the human eye.
It scores produce condition from photos taken at receiving, cooling and shipping.
It reads supplier documents sent by email and reviews inspection forms.
It traces orders back to its field lots with Produce Traceability Initiative case labels and records required under the FDA’s food traceability rule.
It runs on phones and tablets without a cell signal.
The timing matters because buyers have a limited window to reject a truckload. Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, a receiver generally has up to eight hours after receiving notice of arrival and having the produce made available for inspection to reject a truck shipment. The window can extend when the receiver is waiting for a federal inspection.
Loamy says growers typically have about a day to find another buyer after a load misses specifications. Catching a problem weeks earlier gives them more time to redirect the fruit to a processor or juicer.
“When a grower sees it weeks earlier, the fruit goes to a buyer who wants it,” Julius said.
Buyer rejections account for a small share of US surplus food compared with spoilage. ReFED’s 2026 report estimates that 70 million tons of food went unsold or uneaten in 2024, about 29% of the US food supply.
Produce accounted for 45.4% of surplus food, more than any other food category.
Farms generated 24.2% of surplus food.
Spoiled food accounted for 12.9% of surplus food, nearly six times the 2.2% attributed to buyer rejections.
Loamy will use the new funding to expand its engineering and sales teams and move into more food categories. The company also plans to build out its AI products. Its customers include lettuce producers and distributors that also handle meat and grains.
Julius previously led Procore’s app marketplace and a new-verticals enterprise unit at Motive. He founded Loamy in 2024 with co-founder Jason Pesek, who previously led product, compliance and customer success work at Motive.
What’s next
Loamy plans to expand beyond produce into other food categories as it develops its AI products and grows its customer base.
(Photo: Gemma C / Unsplash)
