Crisp Beta Customers Report Significant Reduction in Food Waste

Initial results from more than 30 beta customers give us reason to be optimistic. These customers include food brands such as Gilbert’s Craft Sausages, SunFed Perfect Produce, and Nounós Creamery. Results include an 80% reduction in scrapped inventory, a decrease in time spent forecasting, and a 10% reduction in shorting orders after using the newly launched Crisp platform.  

In speaking with food suppliers and retailers since the inception of Crisp, it became clear that expensive technology is often a huge barrier for adoption. Following on our deep commitment to reducing global food waste, we have made it free for customers to get started and the pricing model is accessible for the entire food supply chain. We have seen this freemium model work extremely well for other SaaS platforms such as Slack, Dropbox and Spotify. The greater the number of partners who use the forecast – from retailers to suppliers to distributors to brokers – the quicker we can reduce waste. 

Using Data for Good

A significant amount of waste in the food industry can be attributed to a supply chain theory known as ‘the bullwhip effect,’ which states that if forecast information off by +/- 5% in actual consumer demand, the error tends to snowball as it travels throughout the food chain, inflating to as much as +/- 40%. The cause of this is slow-moving, inaccurate data and a lack of collaboration among links in the food supply chain. By making the forecasting process quick and easy, data can be shared and forecasts become more accurate, reducing food waste and increasing profit for our customers.

With problems ranging from data privacy to identity theft and political manipulation give big data a bad name, it is gratifying to be harnessing data for good and to make a positive impact on our environment and society. 

Pursuing the Double Bottom Line

Before we began writing a single line of code, we defined a core set of values that we wanted the company to adhere to from day one. These reflect our double bottom line of providing value to our customers and reducing food waste. These values remain our north star, and we constantly measure ourselves against them:

1. We will drive a meaningful positive change in the world. Our parents should be very proud of what we do. What we build matters to a lot of people.
2. We are a caring, team-performance culture. We are the underdog high-performing sports team that fights for every inch to become #1. 
3. We are all about action. If we are behind: action. If we are in the lead: action. If we are happy: action. There is no time to sit around complaining.
4. We focus on outcomes, on strong execution and on individual and team accomplishments.
5. We want to eliminate any work waste, because time is the scarcest resource we have. We strive to simplify the lives of other Crisp team members and protect each other’s time.
6. Our decentralized work culture provides lots of freedom and opportunity. That freedom is based on trust. 
7. We will deliver at least a 10X measurable increase in value to our customers. We build technology and product first, sales and marketing second. 
8. We will always prioritize long-term gains over short term wins. Even if it feels painful in the short term. We enjoy solving really hard, meaningful problems. Integrity, impact, profits, in that order. We are patient.
9. We are like a  German-engineered Ferrari in that we operate as a well-oiled machine that doesn’t break down, and we believe in process and structure. At the same time we believe in fun, excitement and taking turns at top speed.
10. We believe in simplicity, clarity and openness internally and externally. We are direct but kind. When we talk or write, we say exactly what we mean. Disagreements are good. We strive to get to the best answer, not a diplomatic compromise.

What’s Next?

It was just three years ago that a trip around the world with my family radically transformed how I think about food and its distribution. After witnessing first-hand the startling paradox of the massive scale of food waste and food inequity, the vision behind Crisp was born. Today, that vision is an important step closer to reality as we announce the official launch of the Crisp platform to reduce food waste on a global scale. 

On our journey to develop Crisp, our research revealed that $400B worth of food—1.3B tons of it—is wasted before it reaches the consumer. It also became clear that existing legacy systems could not address the imbalance of supply and demand. After combining our ambitious mission with thousands of developer hours, we are now bringing to the market an innovative platform designed to tackle one of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

The Crisp platform was designed to make it as easy as possible for our customers to onboard and access the data they need at any given moment. And their feedback is an integral part of our product development. As we learn from them, we will surely make additional features and functionality available. But our core mission remains the same— for the long term. 

In the meantime, I invite you to visit our crisp, new website – www.gocrisp.com – and join us on our journey!