“DeliFresh takes the guesswork out of deli operations,” said Rob Weisz, Vice President, Retail, Bizerba North America and UK. “Our customers are achieving up to 40 percent waste reduction, translating to as much as $20,000 in annual savings per store - while improving food safety, compliance, and labor efficiency.”
According to ReFED’s Retail Food Waste Action Guide, U.S. grocery retailers lose more than $42 billion annually due to unsold food. The same report identifies an $18.2 billion profit recovery opportunity through targeted food waste reduction measures such as digital tracking, inventory optimization, and employee engagement. Deli counters and other prepared food departments represent one of the biggest opportunities: shrink typically ranges from 4 to 8 percent of inventory value, much of it preventable.
The Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment (PCFWC) has confirmed that Prepared Foods, which includes deli and ready-to-eat items, consistently posts the highest unsold rate in grocery - 8.38 percent in 2022 - and accounts for more than 22 percent of the total retail value of unsold food. The same PCFWC data show a 25–30 percent reduction in unsold food rates among participating retailers since 2019, underscoring the effectiveness of data-driven waste management programs.
A recent PCFWC case study on Sprouts Farmers Market illustrates how visibility and analytics drive measurable results. After implementing real-time waste scorecards and accountability tools, Sprouts reduced generated food waste by 9 percent, increased landfill diversion by 8 percent, and achieved a 78 percent recovery rate - primarily from fresh, perishable departments such as deli and produce.
DeliFresh brings this proven approach to deli teams nationwide by:
- Reducing shrink: Real-time visibility of open products and expiration dates.
- Saving labor: Automated waste tracking and compliance reporting reduce manual logs.
- Ensuring compliance: Digital traceability and expiration alerts support food safety audits.
- Driving sustainability: Supports ESG reporting through measurable waste-reduction data.
- Enabling analytics: Integrates with Microsoft Power BI for enterprise-level visibility.
“Every deli faces the same tension - keeping product fresh, safe, and profitable,” said Jacob Swafford, Head of Software, Bizerba North America. “DeliFresh gives operators the insight they need to make smarter, faster decisions - whether that means adjusting production, applying markdowns, or improving shelf-life visibility across the chain.”
By helping deli managers and corporate operations align around data-driven waste prevention, DeliFresh transforms sustainability from an ethical initiative into a profit-positive operational strategy that strengthens compliance and reduces environmental impact.
