A Texas materials-science company betting that clay and tree extracts - not synthetics - can keep the world's produce fresh and cut the mountain of food we throw away.
"Nature's Barriers, Engineered for Infinite Possibilities."
Roughly a third of the food the world grows is never eaten. Much of that loss happens quietly, in the days between a field and a shelf, as fruits and vegetables lose water, take on oxygen and give way to mold. Nabaco® Inc., based in San Marcos, Texas, was built to attack that gap - not with refrigeration or plastic, but with a coating drawn from the earth.
The company's flagship product, NatuWrap®, is a food-safe, edible coating whose main ingredients are clay and plant extracts. Applied by spraying, dipping or brushing, it self-assembles into a thin barrier around produce. The team describes the structure as a molecular "brick wall": it keeps moisture in while blocking oxygen and unwanted microorganisms from getting through.
What makes the pitch land with growers is the economics. Nabaco says NatuWrap's material and manufacturing cost is under 20% of other produce coatings, and that it drops into existing packing lines without new staff or major equipment. Founder Dr. Gary W. Beall has claimed the coating is "about 50 times more efficient than any other coating" on the market - a figure the company attributes to the density of its clay-based barrier.
The ingredients are chosen as much for regulators as for chemistry. NatuWrap's main components sit on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list, and the coating is suitable for organic produce. It is odorless, colorless and tasteless, which means shoppers never see or taste the thing keeping their grapes firm.
Nabaco frames NatuWrap as a rare case where the greener option is also the cheaper one. The bars below reflect the company's own public claims about cost and efficiency versus conventional produce coatings - useful as an illustration of its pitch, not as independent measurement.
Source: Nabaco / Fruit Growers News. Figures are company-reported and approximate.
Nabaco started with post-harvest freshness and has extended the same clay-based barrier chemistry across the supply chain - from the field, to packaging, to processing.
Crop protection built on Nabaco's natural barrier technology, protecting produce while it is still growing in the field.
The flagship edible coating. Clay and tree extracts form a self-assembling barrier that holds moisture in and keeps oxygen and microbes out. GRAS-listed, organic-suitable, applied by spray, dip or brush.
Processing aids that carry Nabaco's natural barrier platform into post-harvest handling, protecting produce after it leaves the field.
Nabaco sells B2B to the fresh-produce supply chain - growers, packers, distributors and retailers who lose margin every time fruit spoils before sale. Early focus has been on high-value, perishable produce like grapes and avocados.
Post-harvest loss is invisible until you measure it, and it runs into the billions across the supply chain. Nabaco buys growers a few extra days of freshness - days that translate into less waste and more sellable product.
Rivals often rely on plant-lipid or synthetic coatings. Nabaco's differentiator is a clay-nanocomposite barrier it claims is far denser and cheaper, plus a drop-in application that needs no new equipment or staff.
Nabaco competes with edible-coating and shelf-life startups such as Apeel Sciences, Mori, Sufresca and Hazel Technologies, and with conventional waxes and plastic packaging - positioned as the low-cost, natural, organic-friendly option.
The technology traces back to nanocomposite research at Texas State University. That academic root shows up in the leadership: a mix of career chemists and entrepreneurs.
Ph.D. chemist and former associate dean at Texas State University. Holds 48 US patents and originated the coating research behind Nabaco.
Ph.D. chemist with decades of industry experience and founder of BioStable Science & Engineering.
Leads Nabaco's commercial push, steering the company through its expansion into pre- and post-harvest products.
Nabaco is venture-backed, with capital from investors focused on climate and food. Figures below are drawn from public databases and press and should be treated as approximate.
| Round | Amount | Date | Selected Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | ~$3.18M | Jun 2021 | Alsop Louie Partners, Ecliptic Capital |
| Venture | ~$1.2M | Feb 2025 | Ecliptic Capital, Alsop Louie Partners |
Other reported backers across rounds include iSelect Fund, Semilla Climate Capital and Valuence Ventures. Total raised is reported between roughly $8.7M and $12.4M depending on source.
The self-assembling clay-based coating technology is developed out of research at Texas State University.
Nabaco Inc. is established in San Marcos, Texas to commercialize the barrier coating.
Raises a reported $3.18M with backing from Alsop Louie Partners and Ecliptic Capital.
Founders and serial entrepreneurs publicly launch Nabaco and its flagship edible coating.
Introduces Envello for pre-harvest protection and Vanterra for post-harvest processing aids.
Raises a reported $1.2M venture round from Ecliptic Capital and Alsop Louie Partners.
Nabaco makes natural barrier coatings that extend the shelf life of fresh produce. Its flagship product, NatuWrap, is an edible coating built from clay and plant extracts that keeps moisture in and oxygen and microbes out.
Its main components are on the FDA's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list, and the coating is odorless, colorless, tasteless and suitable for organic produce.
It can be applied by spraying, dipping or brushing, depending on the produce, and integrates into existing grower and packer processes without new staff or major equipment.
Nabaco is headquartered in San Marcos, Texas, and is a small company with roughly 22 employees.
It competes with edible-coating and produce shelf-life companies such as Apeel Sciences, Mori, Sufresca and Hazel Technologies, as well as conventional waxes and plastic packaging.
Product demo and interview videos were not found on a verified public channel at time of writing. Check Nabaco's website and LinkedIn for the latest media.