Whole Foods Market has announced a strategic partnership with food waste startup Mill to integrate smart waste management technology across its U.S. produce departments. Beginning in 2027, the grocery chain will deploy Mill’s sensor-equipped bins to mitigate inventory loss. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund has also confirmed an investment in the startup, signaling a significant push to optimize sustainability in the retail sector.
Addressing the Grocery Waste Crisis
Food waste remains a critical operational and environmental hurdle for the U.S. grocery industry. Current data indicates that approximately 10% of all available food—amounting to 43 billion pounds annually—is discarded by retailers, according to a 2014 study. For a sector characterized by razor-thin profit margins, each pound of wasted product represents both a direct financial loss and an unnecessary increase in the company’s carbon footprint.
How Mill’s Technology Functions
The collaboration leverages Mill’s proprietary sensor-laden bins to collect granular data on food disposal patterns, enabling Whole Foods to refine its procurement and inventory strategies. Beyond simple waste collection, the technology employs a dehydration and grinding process to transform produce scraps into a nutrient-dense material.
This byproduct will be repurposed as chicken feed, creating a closed-loop system where the processed waste is supplied back to the farms providing eggs for Whole Foods’ private-label brands. While the specific financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, the startup has secured a total of $250 million in funding to date, as noted in recent reports.