The digital divide in grocery retail is narrowing as Harps Food Stores prepares to launch SmartMeals across its entire network. This decision follows a broad deployment of the platform across the Associated Wholesale Grocers’ member network, signaling a major shift for independent grocers gaining access to high-tech tools once reserved for national giants.
Moving beyond traditional digital coupons, this rollout integrates sophisticated AI directly into Harps’ existing loyalty and web platforms to turn meal inspiration into a localized shopping list in seconds.
“Harps has always focused on delivering the best possible experience for our customers and our communities,” says David Ganoung, chief marketing officer of Harps Food Stores. “Fresh, especially produce, is at the heart of how our customers plan meals, and SmartMeals brings that to life in a more meaningful way. By connecting personalized meal planning with what’s in stock in our stores, we look forward to making it easier for shoppers to discover fresh ingredients and build meals around quality produce.”
Personalized Planning and Real-Time Inventory
The platform, powered by Breez AI, functions as a digital concierge that understands household size, dietary restrictions and specific budgets. Unlike generic recipe sites, SmartMeals syncs with Harps’ live inventory to ensure every suggested ingredient is actually on the shelf at the shopper’s local store.
“People are thinking more carefully about what they eat, and they expect the tools they use to keep up,” says Tal Zlotnitsky, founder and CEO of Breez AI. “When a shopper tells SmartMeals they want to eat heart-healthy or focus on fresh ingredients, that’s exactly what they get, consistently, without having to repeat themselves.”
The SmartMeals deployment at Harps will integrate directly with the company’s existing digital infrastructure, including Birdzi, Harps’ customer loyalty platform, and Webstop, its webpage provider. That integration connects personalized meal planning, digital savings and future online ordering with each store’s real-time inventory and customer loyalty data, giving Harps shoppers a seamless path from meal inspiration to purchase, according to the company.
SmartMeals generates personalized meal plans, recipes and cooking instructions in seconds, based on each shopper’s household size, dietary preferences and budget. It automatically builds a shopping list using products currently in stock at their local Harps store, applies available digital savings and highlights store brands and private-label items. It also creates a personalized, reshoppable library of preferred meals for each customer.
“Harps has always focused on delivering the best possible experience for our customers and our communities,” Ganoung says. “SmartMeals allows us to combine that commitment with cutting-edge technology, giving our customers personalized meal inspiration while making it easier to shop our stores.”
The rollout is part of a broader technology initiative led by AWG to give independent grocers access to advanced digital tools.
SmartMeals includes a fully integrated retail media module, built by Breez AI, that creates high-intent CPG placement opportunities directly inside the shopping experience. When a shopper builds a meal plan, sponsored products can appear as featured ingredients or entire meals matched to their household profile — on a shopping list they are about to shop in-store or order online. For CPG brands, that is among the most targeted placements in grocery retail. For independent grocers, it is a revenue stream that has historically flowed only to the largest chains.
Coming soon, SmartMeals will also deliver personalized meal recommendations back to shoppers through their loyalty program after each trip, creating a second high-intent touchpoint for CPG brands at the moment shoppers are most ready to plan their next basket.
“Independent grocers are the backbone of communities across the country, and our mission at AWG is to ensure they have access to the innovative tools that larger retailers do,” says Shelly Moore, chief information officer of AWG. “SmartMeals helps level the playing field by giving retailers like Harps a powerful way to personalize the shopping experience, driving customer loyalty and basket size. It also opens a new chapter in how CPG brands can partner with independent grocers — placing their products inside a high-intent, personalized shopping experience rather than just relying on traditional promotions.”
“Shoppers are already using AI to decide what to cook,” Zlotnitsky says. “Harps is making sure that decision happens inside their brand, connected to their inventory and their loyalty program. Every week that plays out, Harps is capturing a greater share of the basket, building loyalty and generating retail media revenue that used to be out of reach for independent grocers. The retailers who move now will look back on this as the moment the game changed.”
The rollout will be structured as a phased deployment, beginning in the early summer with an initial group of 20 to 25 stores before expanding across the broader Harps network in subsequent months. The initiative will be led internally by Ganoung and Sarah Thacker, director of advertising and communications.
