In a surprise to everyone, the deadline for using RunningOnIceFSC24 to get a discount on The Future of Supply Chain event got extended. We have one more week! It’s truly a May miracle. The event in Atlanta will be the hottest ticket of the summer. You will not want to miss the keynotes, the entertainment, the LinkedIn connections. Don’t have FOMO when everyone is posting about the event. Be there or be square.
All thawed out
Perishable direct-to-consumer fulfillment got a huge overhaul this week as Grip dropped a new order management system, Pulse, that gives e-commerce brands insights and control over their operations. According to a news release, “Pulse offers groundbreaking features specifically tailored for DTC brands that ship frozen and refrigerated items. In one comprehensive dashboard, brands can monitor daily shipments, refrigerant (dry ice and gel-pack) usage, and analyze inventory movement without custom middleware and spreadsheets. Pulse also incorporates SKU-specific tracking alongside real-time logistics monitoring.”
This level of detail previously wasn’t available in one platform, leaving direct-to-consumer brands to cobble something together.
Juan Meisel, Grip’s founder and CEO said, “These new insights will allow brands to streamline their operations and slash fulfillment costs. By automating tasks and optimizing inventory management, Pulse frees up DTC brands to focus on what they do best – creating incredible products. It has been a big win for our brand partners.”
Temperature Checks
The Midwest is getting some new additions to the cold storage lineup.
Kansas City, Kansas, is welcoming a state-of-the-art, 291,000-square-foot warehouse that is set to open in the fall of 2025, courtesy of CJ Logistics America. The warehouse has a fun twist of being attached to Upfield’s New Century, Kansas, production plant through an above-ground conveyor bridge. There is still 100,000 square feet available in the warehouse before it opens. According to a news release, “Whether by highway, rail or air, the greater Kansas City market offers excellent transportation advantages as approximately 85% of the United States is reachable within two days.”
Going farther north to Lakeville, Minnesota, RL Cold broke ground on a 292,000-square-foot cold storage facility. The facility is expected to have advanced refrigeration tech, a transcritical carbon dioxide system and a strong commitment to energy efficiency. The building is expected to be completed in the spring of 2025 and will have up to 34,000 pallet positions. “This facility will leverage the latest refrigeration technology to provide top-tier cold storage solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” Josh Lewis, chief operating officer at RL Cold, said in a statement.
Food and Drug
Frozen pizza was a $6.62 billion industry in 2022, with the biggest segment of frozen pizza being chicken at 30% market share. In that massive industry, there are few options for those looking for a vegan option, and the options that do exist leave a lot to be desired if we’re being honest. The Hop Craft Pizza & Beer, which is known in the Richmond, Virginia, area for its wide variety of beer, pizza and sandwiches, has taken it upon itself to make big moves in the vegan world.
The restaurant was getting its vegan cheese through Unmoofoods, until the latter went out of business, which caused Hop Craft owner Evan Byrne to try to make his own vegan ch. In an attempt to sell the cheese, he shipped it on a frozen pizza, and thus a new line of frozen pizza was born courtesy of Udderless.
The frozen vegan pizzas are offered at 11 locations around Richmond, including Ellwood Thompson’s, Libbie Market and several Stella’s Grocery locations. They sell for $7-$8, and Byrne said the company produces 200 to 250 of the frozen pizzas a week. The pizzas come in plain, vegan pepperoni and a Greek-style pizza, with plans for more in the works.
Cold chain lanes
SONAR Tickers: ROTVI.SFO, ROTRI.SFO
This week’s reefer market heads out west to San Francisco. Reefer capacity has tightened as May has kicked off with both reefer outbound tender volumes and rejections increasing. Reefer outbound tender volumes are up 4.82% week over week, and rejections have seen a 165-basis-point increase. Rejections have jumped to 6.57%, a sign of possible strength coming back to the market. Should rejections stay near or above 7% for a prolonged period, it would be a sign of the freight market returning.
Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!
Shelf life
Down North Pizza is diving into frozen pies with Gopuff
My/Mochi releases its first sorbets
Frozen strawberries recalled for hepatitis A concerns extend to additional retailers
DHL Supply Chain to close an Indiana warehouse
LoRaWAN temperature and humidity sensors for food safety, pharmaceutical and beyond
Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.
See you on the internet.
Mary
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The post Running on Ice: Perishable direct-to-consumer fulfillment gets a leg up appeared first on FreightWaves.
