Expanding Essential: Protecting Comfort Foods During the Pandemic
The global COVID-19 pandemic turned our world upside down. As our lives shifted course and we turned to find comfort in our homes while social distancing, many discovered new hobbies, tried at-home workouts or organized and cleaned out closets.
While we all sought different methods of solace throughout the chaos, many of us are increasingly turning to favorite foods for comfort. In fact, a recent study found a 20% sales increase in comfort foods in the United States this year compared to last. This surge is pushing companies to quickly shift their supply chain and growth strategies to uphold the highest standards of safety and quality while still meeting the evolving needs of their customers.
While many consumers have chosen to move to delivery services to bring groceries into their homes, few people think about how food gets from farms or companies to grocery store shelves. Since long before the pandemic, the world has relied upon a complex supply-chain system, working hard behind the scenes to make sure our foods are safe to eat. This system needs visibility to ensure food quality and safety throughout the journey of these temperature-sensitive items.
One of our customers, Beyond Better Foods, startup makers of the popular Enlightened ice cream brand, used the pandemic as a moment to reassess their strategies to meet the needs of the comfort-seeking appetites of quarantined Americans.
At any given time, Beyond Better Foods is shipping millions of containers of ice cream across the United States. And as Americans turned to online delivery from their homes, the company saw an opportunity to expand to meet consumers directly through e-commerce – now fulfilling thousands of orders every month directly through their platform.
The pioneering company enlisted Emerson as a trusted partner to revolutionize their cold chain technology to ensure the quality of their ice creams. Our advanced Internet of Things and software technologies enable Beyond Better Foods to monitor and track the location and temperature of every pint moving from factory to warehouse to retailer to consumers. All the while, our data loggers and oversight dashboard are helping the company manage quality to ensure temperatures stay within optimal range.
As companies learn and evolve from the experiences created by the pandemic, the successful intersection of comfort and technology example illustrates how having a true partner can offer greater supply-chain visibility, safety and quality management. We are proud to use our expertise to support industries in innovative ways as we collectively meet the challenges of the constantly changing environment we’ll continue to face.
John Rhodes
Group President, Digital & Connected Technologies, Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions
