PureChex™ employs an innovative approach to associate data and authenticity with consumer products. We empower suppliers to communicate directly with their customer base, highlighting the unique qualities of their products. Our platform offers a visually engaging experience centered around individual products, delivering this experience right into the hands of consumers. In the event of a product recall, consumers are notified only when the specific item they purchased is affected. Our innovative technology introduces new tools to combat fraud effectively.
PureChex™ has dedicated the past 3.5 years to develop, test, and scale our solutions to meet the needs of our partners. Throughout this period, we conducted thorough testing to ensure optimal scanability in various challenging conditions within the supply chain and consumers' homes. We also extensively tested our system's ability to handle millions of transactions per second, guaranteeing flawless performance for a seamless user experience. Now, we are on the brink of launching our product in collaboration with our partner, who holds an impressive 80% share of the global fresh produce label market. Building on this foundation, we plan to expand our data ecosystem to provide valuable insights and offer predictive analysis to all stakeholders.
Problem
The consumer's ability to comprehend and place trust in the products they interact with has been obscured. This situation arises due to business practices that prioritize competitive advantage and the creation of proprietary barriers, discouraging open communication between consumers and suppliers. Intermediaries exploit this lack of transparency, introducing inefficiencies, increased costs, and excessive profit margins throughout the supply chain. These practices not only foster waste within the chain but also cultivate an environment of mistrust among consumers.
Issues related to food safety and traceability are plagued by inaccuracies and consumer skepticism. Frequent large-scale recalls and ineffective communication can desensitize consumers to matters directly impacting their family's safety. PureChex™ offers suppliers the ability to pinpoint and recall only the specific affected product, saving significant time, reducing confusion, preserving brand trust, and conserving resources.
The transparency of post-consumer packaging and lifecycle analysis is currently lacking. Collaborative pilot programs with packaging and waste management partners have demonstrated that data can be harnessed to minimize waste, strategically allocate resources, incentivize reuse, and effectively communicate the story of sustainable waste management practices.
Solution
PureChex™ is in the process of developing a public, permission-less, tokenized data platform that can scale efficiently without the need for extensive infrastructure investments, catering to suppliers of all sizes and across various industries. Our approach involves the utilization of cryptocurrency digital wallets, which are affixed to the products that suppliers wish to label. Subsequently, we create smart contracts to encapsulate specific information, issue tokens corresponding to the contract data, and deposit these data coins into the respective wallets.
This innovative technology serves as a robust deterrent against fraud by providing unique authentication for products. Each individual digital wallet possesses its own distinct identity, enabling us to substantially reduce fraud incidents to the level of individual units. The device responsible for reading the wallet also acknowledges the receipt and securely deposits this immutable data back into the wallet, subject to confirmation by the supplier. This proprietary process represents an exclusive alternative to serialized QR codes, currently employed in industries such as pharmaceuticals.
To engage consumers effectively, we leverage an open API that seamlessly integrates our applications into the backend of branding, retail, lifestyle, social media, and other consumer applications already embedded in their daily lives. For other entities within the supply chain, we create both generic and custom applications to generate the data coins, which are then deposited into the wallets as the products make their way to the end consumer.
PureChex™ empowers key stakeholders to directly communicate their message to consumers. We establish an immutable ledger of the claims made about these products, facilitating the restoration of trust. This platform also enables producers to receive direct feedback from consumers regarding their preferences, concerns, and the value delivered by the product. Consumers gain the ability to learn about and support the positive initiatives undertaken by suppliers, such as certifications, sustainability practices, and social and environmental programs, which contribute to the products entering their family's homes.
Competitive Advantage
PureChex™ offers a unique perspective on the issue, allowing for the creation of a service that can adapt to the rapid pace of consumerism. Our platform is designed to be inclusive, accommodating suppliers of all types and sizes, regardless of their location. We have secured two provisional patents related to digital wallets, ensuring the authentication and ownership of products.
What sets us apart is our cost-effective approach for suppliers, requiring only a fraction of the investment compared to competitors like IBM, who often build private, isolated solutions that demand substantial supplier infrastructure investments. Our technology is platform-agnostic, enabling seamless integration with retailers' existing systems, unlike many competitors that rely solely on blockchain, limiting scalability and transaction volumes for future growth.
PureChex™ conducts transactions on the blockchain solely for the purpose of creating an immutable, referenceable record, while keeping high-volume, noisy transactions within traditional application stacks. This approach ensures consistent pricing and speed, avoiding the potential slow and costly transactions associated with public blockchains.
Our value proposition revolves around fostering direct communication and relationships between producers and consumers, encouraging supplier participation. Suppliers recognize that product differentiation can significantly impact their profitability
Opportunity
Globally, the 1.8 billion-strong Millennial demographic commands an impressive annual income of approximately $14 trillion. Recent market research has revealed their strong insistence on understanding the origins and transparency of the products they purchase. According to a Nestle study, a whopping 74% of Millennial consumers express their willingness to switch brands if offered similar products that offer genuine visibility into their origins, certifications, and traceability. Additionally, it is noteworthy that Millennials are increasingly drawn to companies that actively contribute to positive social impacts and effectively communicate their stories to consumers. Forbes Inc. (2022) reports that a significant 75% of Millennials and Generation Z utilize their mobile devices for learning and online shopping for everyday products, including food.
The landscape of food shopping is evolving rapidly, with online grocery sales projected to reach a staggering $250 billion by 2025 (as per Grocery Dive 2022). Furthermore, the last mile economies are shifting control back into the hands of consumers. Offering a diverse range of curated products, along with transparent information about their origins and a strong product ethos, will undoubtedly attract the consumers of the future. PureChex™ is poised and ready to share that compelling narrative.
Business Model
PureChex™ offers a seamless integration process for suppliers, allowing them to incorporate digital wallets into their existing labeling procedures without imposing additional costs or significant protocol changes. This approach encourages supplier participation by minimizing disruption to their current operations.
Subsequently, PureChex™ generates and sells smart contracts tailored to the specific data-sharing needs of stakeholders. These contracts facilitate the creation of coins, which are deposited into designated wallets. Moreover, we provide both off-the-shelf and customized applications that organizations can deploy across their operations to link data with the deposited coins. This empowers them to access and view permissioned data along the entire chain.
The platform's versatility allows for various data channels to trigger coin issuance. These channels encompass branding, packaging, shipping documentation, insurance, quality inspections, logistics IoT, and promotional programs, among others.
As markets mature around the platform's capabilities, additional revenue streams emerge. For instance, promotional programs can drive crypto exchanges and increase coin valuations, creating new revenue opportunities. Think of it as the "Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar Effect," where customers are incentivized to scan/purchase items to uncover valuable rewards, such as the Million Dollar Avocado during the Super Bowl season. The potential for such initiatives is limitless.
We are also actively collaborating with partners to explore avenues like bounties for digital redemption values related to packaging. Equally exciting is the prospect of enabling consumers to participate in funding empowerment programs initiated by suppliers to directly benefit their workers. Leveraging real digital wallets opens up a wide array of implementation possibilities for future use cases.
Team
Mark Buhl:
· A California native from the San Joaquin Valley, a prominent agricultural region in the USA
· Holds an MBA from Sichuan University in China
· An expert in global fresh produce trade, having represented numerous leading California grower/packer/shipper operations for marketing and sales
· Recognized as a global consultant and speaker on topics such as production, logistic supply chains, food safety, and agricultural technology
· Co-founder of DataHarvest, dedicated to building technological solutions for the agricultural industry
· Founder of Global Agricultural Technical Experts Inc. (
www.gate.cl)
Ryan Clark:
· San Joaquin Valley native deeply rooted in agriculture
· Brings extensive experience from Silicon Valley, where he was part of the PEG team (Performance Engineering Team) and the Paranoids Team, focusing on implementing security solutions at scale for Yahoo
· Co-founder of nOps and nClouds alongside JT Giri
· Co-founder of DataHarvest, dedicated to developing practical tech solutions for the agricultural sector
Felipe Illanes:
· His career has been dedicated to packaging, including his past role as the North American Director of Packaging at Wenco in Chile
· Internationally recognized as an expert in packaging development and sustainability
· Currently engaged in collaborating with the Certified B Corporation Group in South America, where he guides the adoption of sustainable practices on this platform
Lorena Dominguez:
· An expert in global procurement and logistics, she previously served as the Director of Logistics for Index Fresh, Inc.
· Holds a BA in International Economics.
· Licensed as a customs broker in the USA and has actively contributed to the development of digital document platforms for import and export clearance.
Advisory Board:
- Lise Korsten, PhD. – University of Pretoria (South Africa) researcher focused on microbiology, postharvest disease management and food safety. Internationally recognized by organizations such as the United Nations, IMF, World Economic Forum, and the World Bank.
- Mary Lu Arpaia, PhD. – University of California, Riverside Cooperative Extension Specialist (USA) for subtropical horticulture. Recognized global expert in postharvest handling and production practices for subtropical and tropical fruit crops.
- Deidre Holcroft, PhD. – Expert in logistics, food waste, postharvest technology, packaging, and food safety. Extensive experience in deciduous fruits, ornamentals handling as well as postharvest technologies for extending shelf life.
- Rodrigo Iturrieta, PhD. – University of California, Riverside Research Scientist (USA), focused on plant production systems and optimizing productivity.
- Dennis O’Connell – Director of Infrastructure at both Yahoo and currently Verizon. His work has revolved around negotiating, managing, purchasing, and execution of infrastructure hardware and software for both firms.
- JT Giri - Technologist and entrepreneur, has founded multiple startups in Silicon Valley Including nClouds and nOps. His passion is building and managing modern infrastructure solutions that help companies innovate faster.
- Gail Nakamura - Able Freight Services VP, United Airlines key account manager, HPL Apollo business development director.
Additional Resources
Funding Requirement
PureChex™ is seeking to raise $1.5M for 10% equity, for the purposes of scaling out our platform to accommodate our current innovation partners/customers’ volume and grow with future industries. Proposed additional capital raise in 2026.