The FreshSpire App: a Fresh Idea for Reducing Waste

By: Mona Amin, Honors College Freshman

Mona Amin (East Carolina University), Gabrielle Beaudry (UNC Chapel Hill), Shraddha Rathod (NC State), Hannah Sloan (UNC Chapel Hill), and Jennifer Wu (University of Pennsylvania), former students at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, formed the idea to develop a multifaceted notification system and mobile application to notify consumers on the daily markdowns that occur in grocery stores on perishable goods during their senior year.

The FreshSpire App

The FreshSpire mobile application is intended to connect grocers with consumers motivated to purchase wholesome and healthy fresh foods at discounted prices. By liquidating fresh food inventories prior to expiration, FreshSpire aims to reduce landfill waste and methane emissions, boost the bottom line for grocers, and provide healthy discounted foods to all socioeconomic classes.

There is a lot currently happening with Team FreshSpire. Comprised of college freshmen, we are proceeding to raise investment capital by soliciting to potential investors and entering more competitions; arrangements have been made to meet directly with grocers (their primary business development target); and we continue to perfect our technological approach with the app. We are doing all of this all while being a decentralized team attending four different universities.

Our team is continuing to push our idea forward as we apply and participate in start-up and innovation competitions. We are in the process of registering for a third consecutive year for the Conrad Innovation Challenge, were honored as finalists for the American Dream Seekers competition, and were named one of fifty companies in Global Entrepreneurship week. Just recently, we placed second in the Eastern NC Business Plan Competition. Through the competitions, we established profound partnerships, and FreshSpire has now begun the process of application development! We are enthusiastic about using innovative communication technologies to solve serious problems in effective food distribution. We simply can’t wait for our concept to become a reality.

Presenting at the Eastern NC Entrepreneurship Summit

When I heard about the ENC Business Plan Competition (part of the Eastern NC Entrepreneurship Summit), I was very excited. I knew this was my opportunity to get the idea of FreshSpire out to the public and to gain connections with mentors at or around ECU. After going through two rounds of business plan submissions, we were glad to get the opportunity to present before the judges. Though this was the first time that we presented with just one of five team members, the support I had from my teammates before presentation day was tremendous. Our distance apart has in a way brought us closer. At the summit on Monday, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with software developers, attorneys, and angel investors within the Greenville community. Competitions like these truly show the dedication that ECU is putting into its Entrepreneurial Initiative. I cannot wait to see the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship on this campus within my next few years at ECU.

Supporting the FreshSpire App

If you would like to help support Mona and her colleagues or simply learn more about the FreshSpire App, please e-mail teamfreshspire@gmail.com.