With the help of the Invafresh fresh food retail platform, regional supermarket chain Price Chopper/Market 32 says it prevents the waste of 20 tons of fresh food each week and is projected to prevent more than 3,000 tons of food waste over the next three years. its 131 stores in the northeastern United States.
Fresh item management technology from Invafresh allows Price Chopper to meet the growing demand for fresh food while solving the top challenge that comes with fresh retail – food waste or shrinkage. By integrating massive amounts of in-store production data into algorithms that work to intelligently and accurately forecast, order replenishment, production planning, inventory and recipe management, and ensure regulatory compliance, Invafresh helps Price Chopper eliminate stock shortages and help with shelf availability (OSA), facilitating the right quantity of the freshest products at the right time.
“Invafresh has helped Price Chopper produce the right quantities of product to meet our customers' demand while reducing our exposure to excessive shrinkage,” said Patrick Iannotti, director of retail, Price Chopper. “We are working on improvements within Invafresh that will further our drive to exceed our customers' expectations for delivering fresh produce while reducing spoilage that ends up in landfill.”
As a result of working with Invafresh, Price Chopper also reduces methane emissions from landfills, reducing its carbon footprint and helping to foster a more sustainable circular economy. This achievement earned Price Chopper a $100,000 refund and recognition from the Food Waste Reduction and Diversion Compensation Program, administered by the New York State Institute for Pollution Prevention (NYSP2I) at the Rochester Institute of Technology, to offset its technology investment.
“Waste reduction is an integral part of a sustainable business. To win the battle against fresh food waste, grocers must accurately predict fresh with technology and data that leverage deep insights into what makes fresh different. Only then can they accurately reduce shrinkage, lost profits and ultimately food waste in a balanced way,” said Tim Spencer, president and CEO of Invafresh.
“Price Chopper has done this successfully, and we couldn't be more excited to provide the right technology and innovation to set new standards for more sustainable operations and help them become a pioneer in fresh retail,” he added.
Price Chopper/Market 32, owned by The Golub Corp., operates supermarkets under the Price Chopper, Market 32 and Market Bistro banners in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire . Earlier this year, the company signed a definitive merger agreement with local company Tops Markets, which will create a chain of nearly 300 stores in the North East.
