by Kevin Payne | Apr 16, 2019 | Freshness Management
I came across an interesting article in Medium, The History of Packaged Salad in 5 Minutes. Many of us purchase packaged salad blends or salad kits on a regular basis. Statista says that, in 2016, Americans purchased $964 million in salad blends and $950 million in salad kits. If you factor in cole slaw and other prepared salads, the total comes to almost $3.7 billion! Americans love convenience! In fact, we’re now changing the face of convenience stores, long the bastion of junk food. Bucking past trends, produce sales in...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Apr 9, 2019 | Freshness Management
Do you have complete cold chain visibility for your fresh produce? Are you getting the freshest produce, or is your competitor down the street? Where do you rank? Why is it important? According to FMI’s Grocery Shopper Trends 2018, 80 percent of shoppers decide where to shop because of high quality fruits and vegetables. That’s the top reason people choose a grocery store. The question is, are they choosing your store or are they going to your competitor? Many retailers lack cold chain visibility and assume that the produce that...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Apr 2, 2019 | Good Causes
What’s the relationship between fresh produce and health? Is fresh produce or medicine prescribed by your doctor better for you? A recent article in Fast Company “Prescribing” fruits and veggies would save $100 billion in medical costs indicates that we might be better off with fewer pill bottles and more fruits and vegetables. The article cites research from Tufts University that we can reduce chronic diseases by subsidizing the costs of fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods. It states: Roughly 70% of diseases in the...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Mar 26, 2019 | Digital Transformation
Is a technology roadmap for digital transformation a priority for your company? For a lot of us, we often get caught up in our day-to-day activities and run the risk of losing sight of the longer term goals. (That never happens to me though.) In today’s hyper-competitive fresh food market, knowing where you are and where you’re going is critical to your survival. Technology, particularly post-harvest technology, can be a key factor in enabling competitiveness in times of increasing regulations, food safety requirements, labor...Continue Reading...
by Dr. Ricardo Badia, PhD | Mar 19, 2019 | Supply Chain
Cold chain logistics, including quality control and monitoring of produce during transport and distribution, is a major issue in the agri-food sector. The biggest challenge is to ensure a continuous cold chain (maintain cold chain integrity) from producer or supplier through to the retailer and, ultimately, to the consumer. For that it is necessary to count on appropriate monitoring and control systems and technologies, as well as techniques of collection and analysis of reliable data. Currently, the FAO (Food and Agriculture...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Mar 12, 2019 | Freshness Management
Confusion about food labels and food waste continues among consumers. A recent article in Time Magazine Confused By Expiration Dates? You’re Not Alone. Here’s What They Really Mean again highlights the challenges consumers face in trying to make sense of when to eat – and when to toss – food. The Time article cites a study published in Waste Management and states: Many Americans wrongly believed that food product dates—often prefaced by “best by” or “sell by”—are federally regulated and indicate the point after which the food is no...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Mar 5, 2019 | Food Waste
How do we go about reducing fresh food waste in the supply chain? The size and scale of the fresh food waste problem is frankly astonishing. According to the National Resources Defense Council, America wastes up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. In terms of specific categories, the NRDC states that retail food waste alone is: 12 percent for fresh fruits 10 percent for fresh vegetables 11 percent for dairy 8 percent for fish and seafood 7 percent for eggs 4 percent each for meat and poultry That’s how much our...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Feb 26, 2019 | Industry News and Events
United Fresh, one of the major produce industry trade groups, held their annual BrandStorm produce marketing conference last week in San Francisco. Several hundred marketing staff from produce growers and suppliers – as well as service providers like Zest Labs – turned out for an opportunity to hear from experts from the produce and other industries to discuss trends and issues – and generate ideas. Produce Marketing: Improving Your Strategy Tamsen Webster’s keynote led off the BrandStorm produce marketing conference. She instructed...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Feb 19, 2019 | Operational Efficiency
How can AgTech innovation help address the top 10 food grower and supplier challenges and improve operational efficiency? Jim Bogart, President of the Grower Shipper Association of Central California, was part of a presentation hosted by Dennis Donohue at the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Salinas earlier this month. Bogart surveys his membership each year to build the Top 10 Challenges list for food grower and suppliers. Here’s what his members (which includes growers and suppliers in Monterey, Santa...Continue Reading...
by Kevin Payne | Feb 12, 2019 | Digital Transformation
Can IoT sensors reduce food waste? According to a recent article in Supply Chain Dive, sensor technology can reduce food waste by seven percent. The article references a new study published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in conjunction with McKinsey and Company. The Supply Chain Dive article states (and I quote directly from the article): The inefficient supply chain is one of the main reasons for food waste. Almost one-third of global food production ends up wasted, according to WEF. These loses then lead to added procurement...Continue Reading...
