Afresh expands its AI-powered tech beyond the produce section

Afresh Technologies is expanding its store ordering and workflow technology beyond the produce department to include the meat and seafood sections, delis and foodservice departments, the company announced Thursday. 

The platform, powered by artificial intelligence, offers recommendations to streamline inventory and workflow operations for grocery produce sections, claiming a 3% sales lift and 25% shrink reduction. The company now says it can do the same for other departments. 

"We are thrilled to be launching our meat, seafood, deli and foodservice products this year," Matt Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of Afresh, said in a press release. "After proving our ability to add value in thousands of stores in produce, we have been overwhelmed by demand to launch the Afresh platform in other fresh departments. We are taking the same approach of bringing easy-to-use, AI-powered tools to these historically underserved, strategically critical departments." 

The company says its technology directs grocery employees to the most valuable workflow fixes, rather than adopting “arduous labor practices to fruitlessly correct data inputs.” 

The technology appears to be working—some of Afresh’s biggest clients, including Cub, Fresh Thyme and Heinen's, are signing on for the tech upgrade. Cub Spokesman Luke Anderson said in the press release that the tech firm has been “an incredibly supportive and proactive partner." 

CUB, which is Minnesota’s largest grocer, implemented the Afresh technology in August of 2022. "Having a lightweight, fully comprehensive solution that connects across other fresh departments should unlock even more benefits for our customers and store teams," Anderson said. 

Afresh is betting that their efficiency technology will be particularly effective in the meat section, where many grocers face some of the biggest challenges. “With Afresh, store teams can save time by placing pre-filled orders for packaged fresh products with longer shelf lives like bacon,” the company noted. “They can also increase order accuracy with intelligent recommendations for high-value, hyper-perishable items like fresh poultry, boosting in-stock rates and profits while reducing labor overhead."