A business producing labels designed to show how long a packet of food has been open is now backed by venture capital.

Insignia Technologies has secured the investment support of Equity Gap as well as Highland Venture Capital and other private investors.

The Scottish company has developed technology which can be applied to labels so that they change colour over time to reflect how long food packets have been open for.

Also joining the £850,000 round is the Scottish Investment Bank and the University of Strathclyde, the academic institution where the technology was first developed.

Insignia’s funding will go towards completing commercial trials of its smart pigment technology with supermarkets and packaging companies the US and Europe. The business says that some 18 million tonnes of edible food are sent to landfill in the UK each year, a figure which could be cut using its technology.

Company CEO David Kilshaw says that the funding from the likes of Equity Gap and Highland Venture Capital will allow Insignia to grow its customer base as well as progressing customer trials – which will drive it towards commercialisation and positive cash flow.

He adds, ‘As importantly, the investment provides the necessary funding to drive the development program being carried out by our technical team, both with regards to the existing technologies, as well as future research projects.’

More on Scottish funding deals:

• Scottish inventor secures big backing from seed fund
• Angel investment in Scotland sees strong growth in 2012
• Angel funding and grant for Albagaia

Insignia Technologies was formed in 2012 when intelligent inks business Insigniapack and University of Strathclyde spin-out Novas Technologies merged.

Beyond the food production and processing sector, Insignia says that its technology could be extended for use in healthcare, cosmetics and pharmaceutical.

Jock Millican, chairman of Equity Gap, comments, ‘Equity Gap is investing in Insignia Technologies because of the potential use and markets for its products, the strength of the management team and interest that customers have shown in the technology.’