Dive Brief:
- Heritage Grocers Group announced Tuesday that it is shifting its prepared foods strategy through the use of predictive technology aimed at improving market demand fulfillment.
- Upshop will serve as the technology partner behind the transformation of Heritage’s production strategy.
- Heritage said that its decision to revamp its production strategy is rooted in the company’s mission to better serve multicultural families.
Dive Insight:
The shift in Heritage’s production strategy moves away from “experience-based methods” toward data-driven production planning systems, per the press release. Heritage says its partnership with Upshop aims to enhance product availability, optimize labor and better serve more diverse communities.
The new systems will elevate sales by limiting stockouts, according ot the announcement. And, for store-by-store operations, the system will use forecasting tools that align with staffing, especially in stores’ service meat and deli departments; utilize batch processing that reduces prep time and frees up employees for more customer-facing tasks; and offer stores tailored scheduling to match a location’s production system.
“Leveraging predictive analytics, this system will enhance market demand fulfillment and boost sales through optimized product availability and superior customer experience,” said Prabash Coswatte, chief operating officer for Heritage.
As the technology partner behind these changes, Upshop will focus on ushering in artificial intelligence tools into this unified operations platform, Upshop CEO Mike Sanders said in a statement.
Heritage aims to better appeal to multicultural families with quick, high-quality meals that “reflect cultural traditions and suit the needs of larger family units,” according to the announcement.
“From carnitas and caldo to pan dulce and pozole, our customers are asking for ready-made meals that feel like home. This new system ensures we meet that demand, store by store, hour by hour,” Coswatte said.
The updates to Heritage’s prepared foods strategy come at a time of significant executive changes at the company. A few weeks ago, Heritage announced Suzy Monford stepped down as board chair and CEO after roughly nine months at the helm. The company named David Hirz as chair of the company board and established an Office of the CEO made up of senior leaders to guide the company during the search for a replacement.
Since the start of 2025, Heritage has also named a new CFO, created and filled a chief transformation officer position and appointed new group vice presidents of merchandising and marketing.
