ChopValue announces $7.7M in growth financing

ChopValue, a Vancouver-based company that creates sustainable products from recycled chopsticks, marked a pair of key milestones today: transforming its 100 millionth chopstick into new products and the close of a $7.7 million funding round. The company has multifold plans for the cash: to expand its decentralized microfactory network to increase production capacity and develop new product lines; and to invest in research and development to make its manufacturing most efficient, thus allowing for a continued reduction of its environmental footprint. ChopValue is also looking to announce the opening of over 100 new locations shortly.

The funding round was led by two high-profile technology entrepreneurs with expansion interests in Asia Pacific and Europe. Also joining the round were corporate venture capital funds and existing investors. The funds will be used to expand ChopValue's operations, particularly to better serve B2B partnerships.

Chop chop: The company’s microfactories essentially act as ChopValue franchises. The company has seen this model produce rapid growth since its 2016 inception. ChopValue employs hundreds across six countries through 63 in-development franchises, and stores over 136,000 kilograms of carbon thanks to material collected by more than 1,700 community restaurant partners. The company also recently signed Strategic Growth Agreements for market entries in Japan, Singapore, Central Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. The new scale achieved through its microfactory network is allowing the company to serve strategic B2B clients for projects such as multi-restaurant build outs, while continuing to meet end-customer demand. Home goods made from ChopValue’s recycled chopsticks are available at such retailers as Home Depot and London Drugs.

Chopping it up: "ChopValue's innovative approach to circular manufacturing, which has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the manufacturing industry, is a vision that’s coming to life and has tremendous potential for positive impact," said Andy Burt, one of ChopValue’s strategic growth partners.

Felix Böck, CEO and founder of ChopValue, credits the team’s “commitment to demonstrating that the circular economy should become the norm when our natural resources are strained, and our landfills continue to grow.” He hopes that the “decentralized microfactory approach that uses local resources for local production to meet local demand will also give a reason to rethink globalized supply chains,” as ChopValue enables small business owners to own local ChopValue franchises. Receive 10 percent off a one-year membership when you sign up right here, right now.