Price Chopper/Market 32 cuts food waste and emissions with tech platform

With the help of the Invafresh fresh food retail platform, regional supermarket chain Price Chopper/Market 32 says it 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.

The 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 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,” said Patrick Iannotti, director of retail operations, Price Chopper. “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.”

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As a result of working with Invafresh, Price Chopper is also 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 its 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 and 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,” said Tim Spencer, president and CEO of Invafresh.

“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,” 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 fellow regional player Tops Markets that will create a chain of nearly 300 stores in the northeast.

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