Smart label firm raises £1.3m

A Scottish firm that makes “smart labels” which are able to signal when food and other products go off has attracted more than £1 million in funding from American angel investors and Scottish business leaders.

Edinburgh-based UWI Technology, said it had raised around £1.3m in a deal led by US syndicate Aero-Den and including the Scottish Investment Bank.

Both were early backers of the firm. Aero-Den’s membership includes Scottish-born businessman Douglas Cribbes, who became UWI’s chairman in 2012.

A number of private investors, said to include Scottish big-hitters, also participated in the fundraising, which is aimed at driving the company’s next phase of growth.

Founder and chief executive Pete Higgins – who had his “eureka moment” while making lunch for his eight-year-old son – said: “While allowing UWI to move into the next phase of growth and deliver product to market, the investment is also a huge endorsement of our overall strategy and outlook.”