Invafresh, the market leader in FreshologyTM for the fresh food retail industry, marks a sustainability milestone in its partnership with U.S. supermarket chain Price Chopper/Market 32 (Price Chopper), a banner of The Golub Corporation. With the help of the Invafresh fresh food retail platform, the regional supermarket chain prevents 20 tons of fresh food from being wasted each week and is projected to prevent more than 3,000 tons of food waste over the next three years across its 131 stores in the northeastern United States.
Invafresh’s intelligent fresh-native, modular, and highly adopted fresh item management technology paired with its industry experts of freshologistsTM and proven implementation and training methodologies allowed Price Chopper to meet the growing demand for fresh food while solving the top challenge that comes with fresh retail—food waste or “shrink”. By integrating vast amounts of in-store production data into algorithms that work to forecast intelligently and accurately, replenish orders, plan production, manage inventory and recipes, and ensure regulatory compliance, Invafresh helps Price Chopper to eliminate inventory shortfalls and assist with on-shelf availability (OSA) facilitating the right amount of the freshest products at the right time.
“Invafresh has helped Price Chopper to produce the correct amounts of product to meet our customer demand while reducing our exposure to excess shrink. We are working on enhancements within Invafresh that will further our effort in exceeding our customer’s expectations for delivering fresh products while limiting the spoilage that ends up in the landfill,” says Patrick Iannotti, Director of Retail Operations, Price Chopper.
As a result of Invafresh adding a green dimension to their bottom line, Price Chopper is reducing its methane emissions from landfills, lessening its carbon footprint, and helping to fuel a more sustainable circular economy. This achievement has earned Price Chopper a grant reimbursement of $100,000 and recognition from the Food Waste Reduction and Diversion Reimbursement Program, which is managed by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) at Rochester Institute of Technology, to offset their technology investment.
“Reducing waste is an integral part of being a sustainable business. To win the fresh food waste battle, grocers must accurately forecast fresh with technology + data that leverages deep insights into what makes Fresh different. Only then can they accurately reduce shrink, lost profits, and ultimately food waste in a balanced way,” says Tim Spencer, President and CEO, Invafresh.
“Our customer Price Chopper has done that 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 frontrunner in fresh retail.”
Since Price Chopper’s work with NYSP2I, the supermarket chain has signed a definitive merger agreement with Tops Markets to become a mega-supermarket retailer with nearly 300 stores in the northeast.
