Regulation and compliance: Registrar Corp buys Foodsteps

Hampton (VA) | London (UK). (psp) Registrar Corp, portfolio company of Paine Schwartz Partners and the United States’ leading provider of regulatory and compliance software, has acquired Foodsteps, a pioneering UK-based company dedicated to helping food businesses reduce the environmental impact.

Launched in 2018 by Cambridge University graduate Anya Doherty, Foodsteps has expanded 14-fold since 2021 and is now used by over 150 food businesses worldwide, including Compass Group, Sky and Albert Heijn, to accurately measure, understand, reduce, and communicate their impacts from farm to fork.

The acquisition through the leading provider of regulatory and compliance software comes at a time when the food industry, a major contributor to emissions and biodiversity loss, is facing increasing global demands and growing pressure to demonstrate progress towards short-term sustainability targets.

The European Union introduced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) last year, with other major governments seeking to implement similar reporting requirements. Sustainability targets are also under scrutiny. In March, the Science-Based Targets Initiatives (SBTi) identified major food businesses that had failed to meet the deadline to set targets and meet decarbonization commitments.

Foodsteps’ platform analyzes data across company supply chains, incorporating sustainability metrics across farming, packaging, processing, and transport, and providing automated Life Cycle Assessments on products. It gives organizations a level of transparency that the industry has historically lacked, enabling companies to meet burgeoning reporting requirements, as well as set and monitor targets.

The acquisition of Foodsteps by Registrar Corp will give the platform access to a global market of over 32,000 companies in 190 countries, including 28,000 food businesses, as well as sustainability expertise from Paine Schwartz Partners, the largest private equity firm dedicated to sustainable food chain investing.

Foodsteps CEO and Founder Anya Doherty: «This acquisition represents a significant milestone not just for our team but also for the future of food sustainability. By combining our software, data, and expertise in sustainable food with Registrar’s global leadership in regulation and compliance, we are poised to deliver the next generation of solutions that the food industry needs.»

SVP Corporate Development Brian Thies at Registrar: «Foodsteps’ data platform is like no other. With industry leading data that is recognised through partnerships with the University of Oxford, WWF and WRAP, the company has a track-record of helping procurement, sustainability, and marketing teams meet reporting standards and net zero goals. By joining forces, we hope to help businesses comply with sustainability and compliance regulations and facilitate the transition to net zero, by enabling the growth of transparent and sustainable global supply chains.»