Label firm hopes US tour will bring it a new audience

FLEDGLING Edinburgh start-up UWI Technology is looking to gain further traction in the United States on a tour featuring firms with the potential to combat climate change.

The company, which has developed a label that identifies spoiled food, is one of 13 European firms meeting influential investors on the Climate-KIC USA Start Up Tour. The roadshow, backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, aims to showcase products with both environmental benefits and mass market appeal.

The UWI Label gives an automatic signal when food, medicine or other products are about to expire. Its creator, Liberton-based entrepreneur Pete Higgins, says it will prevent the consumption of tainted food while also cutting down on waste.

Speaking from San Francisco on the tour, Higgins said the trip would raise awareness of the UWI Label ahead of plans to raise $1 million (about £625,000) from US investors next year. The company is also seeking development partners in the US.

Higgins said: “We are excited to further explore market opportunities in the US and it will allow us to build on the connections we have made on the continent after securing significant investment from US investors earlier this year.”

The tour comes just months after UWI won £50,000 of backing from Scots-born Douglas Cribbes, an executive in the US aviation industry, who also became UWI chairman.

In addition, UWI has received £70,000 from Scottish Enterprise’s Smart Scotland scheme, plus £50,000 prize money from last year’s Take One Small Step competition run by Barclays.