MONCTON, CANADA—Fiddlehead Technology, an innovator in predictive forecasting for the food and beverage industry, today announced it received $1.8 million in seed funding led by Build Ventures. The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation also invested in the company’s seed round.

Fiddlehead’s flagship product, Forecast Guardian™, helps food and beverage companies improve forecasting performance. It provides recommendations on how to maintain more accurate forecasts with less effort. The cloud-based solution integrates with existing ERP or forecasting software, and can be set up in as little as two weeks.

“Forecasting has often been more art than science. But with our prescriptive analytics we can go beyond simply measuring forecast accuracy to offer data-driven recommendations to improve performance,” said David Baxter, president and co-founder of Fiddlehead. “That leads directly to more accurate demand forecasts, allowing companies to lower inventory, improve service levels and boost margins.“

Fiddlehead developed its technology in collaboration with McCain Foods Limited, one of the world’s largest frozen food producers. “Working closely with McCain Foods has allowed us to identify the kind of forecasting recommendations that will have the most significant business impact. Forecast Guardian™ is the culmination of these learnings. It delivers real value to food and beverage manufacturers, because they compete in an industry where efficiency really matters,” said Fiddlehead cofounder and vice president of product Shawn Carver.

Fiddlehead will use its seed funding to add data science and development staff, as well as increase its sales and marketing efforts throughout North America.

Atlantic Canada-based venture capital firm Build Ventures is leading Fiddlehead’s seed round. “Fiddlehead has created something very special that will help major food and beverage producers improve their forecasts and add millions to their bottom lines,” said Build’s Rob Barbara. “The company and its team have tremendous potential.”