Hazel Technologies Inc., a USDA-funded technology company delivering new solutions for the fresh produce industry to extend shelf-life, increase sales, and fight food waste, announces a partnership with Miami, Florida-based tropical produce company Fruits n’ Rootz.
Founded in 2018, Fruits n’ Rootz specializes in the shipment of rare and exotic tropical produce items directly to consumers. Offerings include a wide variety of fresh tropical fruits such as soursop, mamey, cherimoya, and specialty banana varieties. Consumer interest in tropical fruit online delivery has skyrocketed in 2020 in the wake of COVID-19: This year Fruits n’ Rootz has reached over half a million Instagram followers and ships 20,000 boxes per month across the United States and Canada.
One persistent challenge with shipping tropical fruit long distances is the extremely high level of perishability. Fruits like soursop frequently have a shelf life of less than 7 days. For Fruits n’ Rootz, spoiled fruit was adding up, resulting in not only lower sales, but also lower social impact: A fraction of the sales for each fruit box is donated to support hungry children in Africa through iheartAfrica, a charity driven by a social mission to improve the livelihoods of men, women and children in the Democtractic Republic of Congo, Jamaica and Ghana.
Following the implementation of Hazel Tech® in 2020, shrink levels have decreased for Fruits n’ Roots. “Since incorporating Hazel into our tropical fruit boxes, we have observed approximately 40% lower quality complaints from customers,” said Krystal Pitt, Co-Founder and CEO of Fruits n’ Rootz. “Hazel not only allows us to reach more consumers with quality fruit, but also give back to communities in need more generously.”
“Food waste is one of the largest social issues facing the world today,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO, Hazel Technologies, “Our goals at Hazel are to not only support our partners like Fruits n’ Rootz in their efforts to fight world hunger, but also to provide our waste-reducing technologies across the globe.”
