TRACEGROUND: Making Food Traceable from Field to Table

Transparency about origin is no longer just a nice to have for Bulgarian producers, it is a standard that customers now expect. TRACEGROUND, a technology startup and active member of the AgriVentures cluster, is the company behind the solution that made this possible at the largest retail chain in the country. With a single QR code on the label, shoppers buying fruits, vegetables, and fresh herbs from Kaufland's own brand "Bray!" can now trace the entire path of the product from the farm to the shelf. This makes Kaufland Bulgaria the first retail chain in the country to introduce "field to shelf" traceability as a category standard.

The TRACEGROUND story is a strong example of what AgriVentures members can achieve when agricultural innovation meets a real market problem. Below is the full story of the company, the team behind it, and its growth plans, told by the founders themselves.

The Team Behind TRACEGROUND

The idea was born in 2018, from a team of entrepreneurs and experts with experience in agriculture, technology, and business development.

Viktor Asenov is an agricultural producer, entrepreneur, and the company's CEO. His mission is the digitalization of agriculture in Bulgaria and the traceability of food origin.

Petar Blagov is the company's technology lead. He specializes in developing blockchain solutions for tracking and data protection, including infrastructure, digital identities, and mobile applications.

Maria Georgieva is a business development expert, serial entrepreneur, and consultant with experience integrating innovative digital solutions and scaling businesses in a digital environment.

Marketing and communications strategy at TRACEGROUND is led by Zlatina Kozhuharova Yosifova, a specialist with over 20 years of experience in PR and media communications.

Teodosiy Dimitrov, a co-founder of the company, is a consultant on European funding and an expert in agrarian marketing, contributing a multidisciplinary approach that combines scientific expertise, strategic planning, and market knowledge.

How the Idea Was Born

Viktor Asenov, CEO of TRACEGROUND:

"The idea was born on my family farm. I am an agricultural producer, and we had a specific situation. Another producer was improperly selling their produce at a large retail chain while presenting it as mine. We found out by accident, from neighbors who mentioned they had seen crates with my name on them at the retail chain. That is when we realized there was a serious problem, because there was no system to track the origin of food, and that meant there was no way to guarantee the quality of the product for the end consumer.

We decided that we had to be the ones to build a traceability system, in order to help Bulgarian producers and consumers. While working on the system, we recognized the need for digital solutions that would optimize processes, reduce costs, and improve product quality on the farm. We realized that everything needed to run through a single system, without requiring multiple software products, since that leads to a labor intensive, slow, and resource heavy solution. That is why we built an intuitive, unified product where everything lives in one place.

It is precisely this end to end solution that makes it possible to track the entire process from planting to the table, which can guarantee origin and quality for the end consumer. That is why we at TRACEGROUND committed to building a product that would not only be useful for the producer but would also give the end consumer peace of mind. At the moment, there are no systems like this in Bulgaria, and no one can really say what we are eating or how it affects our health.

We hope TRACEGROUND will change that, and that every Bulgarian household will have quality, healthy food with a clear origin on the table."

How and When the Partnership with Kaufland Began

Zlatina Kozhuharova Yosifova, Marketing Lead at TRACEGROUND:

"We first built a prototype of the system and started out as a startup testing the product on different farms. In the meantime, we applied to the LaunchLabs Accelerator Program and were accepted because of our innovative idea. In the accelerator, we had the opportunity to be mentored by outstanding business people and senior managers from various companies.

That is where one of our mentors turned out to be the CEO of Kaufland Bulgaria, Ivan Chernev. As a forward looking chain, Kaufland supported our innovative idea and ran a pilot implementation of the system to trace spinach at its first technologically innovative store, at the time located in Sofia's Manastirski Livadi neighborhood. That is how our partnership began. Today, our origin tracking QR codes are implemented on more than 100 items, fruits, vegetables, and fresh herbs, from various Bulgarian agricultural producers under Kaufland's own brand "Bray!"."

Other Joint Projects and Technology Partnerships

Petar Blagov, CTO of TRACEGROUND: "We only partner with Kaufland on this specific project. But we also have a technology partnership with IBM, a European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) portfolio and node through our technology partner at TRACEGROUND, as well as a partnership with IDUnion for a specific service in Germany."

Applications in Other Sectors

Teodosiy Dimitrov, COO of TRACEGROUND: "Yes, tracking documents related to so called 'trusted lists.' This service is provided by us together with a partner company in Germany (IDUnion).

The entire TRACEGROUND team is working on expanding the tracked documentation and licenses, and on implementing government requirements that would reduce the time it takes for produce to cross borders and clear customs, which would significantly shorten the time for fresh products coming from outside the EU."

Opportunities to Upgrade the Service

Maria Georgieva, Business Development Manager at TRACEGROUND: "Yes, there is room for many improvements and expanded features. At this stage, there are already videos of specific products and producers, so that part is not new. Of course, it can be expanded even further."

Asenov adds that future development at Kaufland will come through implementing artificial intelligence in the system, as well as integrating the origin tracking app with the "Kaufland Customer Card" service. This will allow the scope to expand to data exchange, better insights into customer behavior, and rewards for end consumers. It is especially important that the consumer receives a reward, in the form of Kaufland points, for scanning the TRACEGROUND QR code. On top of all its other benefits, this will help strengthen trust between Kaufland and the end customer.

Since the service is relatively new and covers a huge amount of information that has to be processed and verified, Kaufland is currently using only a small part of what TRACEGROUND can offer, and the team has plans to upgrade and scale the service significantly.

As an example of where things are headed, Asenov points to the opportunity to integrate blockchain technology further. TRACEGROUND's partner company holds the Bulgarian nodes of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), the infrastructure behind the digital euro, which will roll out across the EU starting at the end of 2027. The combination of artificial intelligence and EBSI gives the company a competitive edge in the coming digitalization of agriculture and the food sector, and according to the team, this will unlock enormous potential for all of TRACEGROUND's clients and users.

Which Other Countries Use the Service

Maria Georgieva: "The service is gradually expanding around the world. Similar services exist in the United States, South Korea, Croatia, Italy, and many other countries, and it keeps improving and expanding its reach across every continent. Our most recent collaboration came at the invitation of the Bulgarian-African Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Culture (BACCIC), where our company was presented to a Nigerian prince and influential delegates from the Nigerian government, as an opportunity for them to benefit from TRACEGROUND's technological innovations. It is worth noting that in Europe too, food origin traceability is becoming an increasingly sought after and widespread service, since it is currently a top priority for the European Union."

How Often the Information Is Updated

Petar Blagov: "With full implementation of the system across farmers, retail chains, suppliers, and all other participants in the chain, updates need to happen instantly and automatically. At this stage, that still happens manually, when Kaufland or the producer submits new information. Beyond that, automatic synchronization processes can be built at Kaufland's request, for example for promotions, recipes, events, and other important segments, once artificial intelligence has been expanded and implemented in the system."

The Team and the Scale of the Company

Petar Blagov: "The technical and technology team is 9 people, the rest are administrative staff and business development."

TRACEGROUND's Other Solutions and Products

Petar Blagov: "The solutions we have developed are in the field of data tracking and encryption using blockchain services. In close partnership with the European Commission, we are developing digital solutions under the European Blockchain Infrastructure, related to the single European digital identity wallet. Infrastructure solutions in information technology are also part of that partnership. The company also specializes in building desktop and mobile applications, for both Android and iOS."

Maria Georgieva: "Our main mission this year is the digitalization of the agricultural sector in Bulgaria. Our ERP platform, TraceFarm, is currently launching. It streamlines and optimizes processes in agriculture using artificial intelligence and data exchange between farmers, with the goal of building better cooperatives. TraceFarm together with the TRACEGROUND QR system will result in a complete package of digital services for the farmer, and traceability across the entire supply chain, from the farm through Kaufland to the end consumer's table. Reducing food waste is also an important goal for TRACEGROUND, and as part of the company's ESG strategy, so is reducing its carbon footprint, or CO2 emissions, a service that is in extremely high demand worldwide."

Why This Matters for AgriVentures

TRACEGROUND is an example of how AgriVentures members turn a specific problem from the farm into a solution with national, and now international, reach. The company's story, from a personal injustice against an agricultural producer to a partnership with the country's largest retail chain, technology infrastructure at the European level, and recognition beyond Europe, shows the path along which the cluster supports Bulgarian agtech innovators: through mentorship, industry connections, and access to market opportunities.

For AgriVentures, the TRACEGROUND story is a source of pride and encouragement for other cluster members to follow the same path: identify a real problem in the sector, build a team with complementary skills, and pursue partnerships that scale the solution beyond Bulgaria's borders.

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