Weis Markets Selects Invafresh to Streamline Fresh Food Operations

Looking to reduce food waste in its fresh departments, Weis Markets on Thursday said it has selected Invafresh to streamline its fresh food operations for the grocery retailer’s 198 stores. 

The collaboration with Invafresh’s Fresh Retail Platform includes the development of demand forecasting, in-store production planning, food traceability, recipe management and cut test management across all fresh departments, Weis said in a statement.

Invafresh is a Toronto-based forecasting, sustainability and compliance company that is used in more than 25,000 grocery stores in 15 countries. 

“Our Invafresh collaboration will help us automate processes, such as ordering, production and inventory management, so that we are meeting customers’ expectations with the freshest foods while also more accurately predicting demand,” said Bob Gleeson, SVP of merchandising and marketing at Weis Markets, in a statement. “We expect this platform to reduce food waste and improve efficiencies.” 

With consumer demand in fresh food from grocers increasing, grocers are turning to automate certain processes by implementing fresh-native technology, Invafresh said in a statement. 

Giving the grocery retailer visibility and quality control over its stores to maximize freshness and deliver a consistent consumer experience, the Invafresh Fresh Retail Platform uses AI and machine learning to streamline fresh food operations and reduce waste, making in-store operations more efficient.

“We are pleased to be extending our relationship with Weis Markets, a customer who has used our scale-management solution for many years. We are now focused on helping Weis to optimize their fresh store operations, from deli to bakery, produce to meat, and everything in between, to ensure the freshest and highest-quality products are available at the right levels when the consumer wants it,” said Tim Spencer, president and CEO at Invafresh, in a statement. “Our fresh-native platform helps grocery retailers deliver on their customer promise of quality and consistency while keeping margins in check and achieving their food sustainability goals in fresh.”

The Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based grocer reported earlier this month that the company’s second quarter comparable-store sales increased 8.4% and that net income was up 8.3%.

"We generated strong results in the second quarter despite ongoing inflationary pressures throughout our business operations due to the hard work and commitment of our associates," said Weis Markets’ chairman, president and CEO Jonathan H. Weis.

Weis Markets operate 198 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia.