Want to Improve Your Grocery Margins? Take a Look at Your Supply Chain

Want to Improve Your Grocery Margins? Take a Look at Your Supply Chain

The retail grocery industry has never been more in flux. Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods transformed the landscape as the online giant planted its foot squarely in the food segment and cut prices, forcing other grocers to follow suit and kicking off a price war.  Newer market entrants like Lidl and Aldi are further forcing down prices. Changes in trucking laws relating to electronic logging devices (ELDs) are likely to drive the cost of shipping and goods higher.  Then there’s the issue of the increasing scope of e-commerce with...Continue Reading...
I’ll Never Look at Strawberries the Same Way

I’ll Never Look at Strawberries the Same Way

Since I started working at Zest Labs I have not been able to look at a strawberry the same way as I did before joining the company. Each morning when I make my breakfast and take the berries out of my refrigerator I pause to think about everything that went into growing, harvesting, packing and shipping those berries. It’s really a rather phenomenal process when you understand it. Beyond the planting, growing and harvesting – which is no doubt an achievement in itself – the post-harvest processing and distribution is remarkable. We...Continue Reading...
New Verizon Ad Sheds Light on Important Food Safety Issues

New Verizon Ad Sheds Light on Important Food Safety Issues

Verizon Enterprise last week launched a marketing campaign highlighting how its 4G LTE technology can be used in the cold supply chain. At Zest Labs, we applaud Verizon’s initiative to bring light to the issue of food safety, as well as the current technical and process challenges that continue to impact humans and our fresh food supply. The issue is so large, that to put it in pure economic terms, the USDA estimates the amount of food loss in the U.S. alone each year totals more than $161B.  And the industry simply accepts these...Continue Reading...