Whole Foods Market is set to tackle how the grocery industry handles organic waste through a new collaboration with Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and the technology firm, Mill Industries Inc.
Starting in 2027, the retailer will deploy Mill Commercial, an automated, high-capacity infrastructure designed to process fruit and vegetable scraps directly within back-of-house operations. The artificial intelligence-powered system dehydrates produce waste on-site, converting it into a nutrient-rich chicken feed ingredient for the grocer’s private-label egg suppliers to create a closed-loop supply chain.
According to a news release, this initiative marks the grocery industry’s first on-site food waste conversion technology, enabling food waste to be converted into chicken feed in store before sending to suppliers for closed-loop opportunities. Mill says it sets an ambitious standard for the grocery industry by transforming food scraps once considered waste into a new, valuable feedstock. The collaboration creates value at every stage in Whole Foods Market’s operations from suppliers to customers, according to the release.
Mill Commercial will precisely and automatically measure and characterize the fruit and vegetable scraps, helping to enable smarter inventory decisions and optimized ordering patterns, the company says. Its advanced dehydration process can also reduce waste volumes by up to 80%, simplifying Whole Foods Market’s operational handling requirements, significantly lowering transportation costs and enhancing food safety. The resulting high-quality, cost-effective feed ingredient aims to provide stability to Whole Foods Market suppliers and reduce price volatility for customers.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Mill on its innovative commercial scale technology that will help us reduce food waste and operate more efficiently,” says Jason Buechel, vice president of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and CEO of Whole Foods Market. “This first-of-its-kind collaboration enables us to minimize waste while building a more circular supply chain that benefits our customers, communities and environment.”
Building on the success of its residential food recycler, Mill says it will bring its technology to the commercial sector. Like the residential product, Mill’s larger-scale device grinds and dehydrates food scraps, transforming them into what the company says are dry, odorless and shelf-stable food grounds. The output can be used for a number of different applications.
Mill says its commercial system also enables significant reductions in hauling and infrastructure costs over time, and is expected to cut carbon emissions associated with food waste management.
The company says Mill Commercial brings advanced AI capabilities into the physical realm of grocery and food service businesses. Mill’s approach uses AI to track and measure food waste in real time to identify what’s being thrown away, how much and how best to reuse the resource. Mill Commercial adds that it empowers businesses to get smarter on their food supplies and operations, providing insights and opportunities for improvements and efficiencies.
“Until now, there has been no advanced technology solution to tackle the problem of food waste at commercial scale,” says Matt Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Mill. “With Mill Commercial, we are combining our innovative hardware with data and insights powered by AI to make it easier to dramatically reduce food waste in the grocery sector and beyond, turning what was ‘waste’ into a resource we can use. Our approach will deliver significant operational and financial benefits, not just environmental ones. This collaboration with Amazon will set a new standard for the industry, and we are excited to launch Mill Commercial with a trailblazing and mission-driven brand like Whole Foods Market.”
“Utilizing Mill’s intelligent, connected and distributed infrastructure helps customers reduce food waste, scale a more circular supply chain and achieve greater operational efficiency,” adds Thomas Selby, investor at the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. “We’ve been following Mill since inception and are thrilled to invest now to support the development and deployment of their commercial technology at Whole Foods Market and beyond.”
