Zest Labs

Zest Labs provides post-harvest freshness management services, developing solutions to modernize the food distribution and delivery system. Previously known as Intelleflex, the company was founded in 2003 by Ashish Asthana and David Bostwick. In 2013, Zest Labs was acquired by Ecoark Holdings, a diversified holding company. Peter Mehring, a seasoned executive with experience at Apple, Sun Microsystems, and as a founder of Umax Computer Corp., led the company as CEO from 2016 to 2022.

The company's core offering, Zest Fresh, is a cloud-based software solution designed to reduce food waste in the supply chain. It provides pallet-level tracking of time and temperature, enabling intelligent routing and real-time monitoring from the field to the retail shelf. This is accomplished through a combination of IoT sensors, or tags, that monitor conditions like temperature and humidity within produce pallets, and readers that wirelessly collect this data. The data is then analyzed to predict the remaining shelf life of fresh food, allowing for proactive decisions to minimize spoilage. Zest Labs serves growers, distributors, and retailers, aiming to improve profitability, food quality, and sustainability. A significant event in the company's history involves a trade secrets dispute with Walmart, where Zest Labs alleged that the retail giant used its technology to develop a competing system. This legal battle resulted in a substantial jury verdict in favor of Zest Labs.

Zest Fresh is designed to provide autonomous, field-to-shelf visibility for proactive decision-making. By collecting data at the pallet level, the system can dynamically assess the freshness of produce throughout the supply chain. This allows for prioritizing the distribution of items with a shorter remaining shelf life, ultimately reducing waste by a significant margin. The technology also incorporates blockchain to enhance food safety, product freshness, and traceability. The business model centers on providing these technology-driven services to clients in the fresh food industry to help them manage inventory, reduce shrink, and improve the consistency of delivered quality.

Keywords: post-harvest management, food supply chain, AgTech, food waste reduction, Zest Fresh, IoT sensors, cold-chain monitoring, shelf-life prediction, real-time analytics, food traceability, supply chain visibility, freshness management, produce quality, inventory management, agricultural technology, Ecoark Holdings, Peter Mehring, food safety, sustainable agriculture, supply chain software