With the goal of revolutionizing its fresh perimeter, Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Festival Foods has partnered with Upshop, a provider of AI-driven retail software, for store operations.
This partnership is timely for Festival Foods as the organization gears up for growth and requires systems that can rapidly scale. With Upshop, store employees gain the ability to achieve more with less, allowing them to dedicate more time to serving shoppers.
Upshop’s Fresh SaaS software suite connects and digitizes workflows, streamlines ordering processes and simplifies production operations to meet shopper demand. The platform leverages AI-driven forecasting and real-time inventory visibility for raw and finished items.
By integrating disparate workflows and data streams – such as pricing, ingredients, recipes, production plans and made-to-order tasks – Upshop will enhance Festival Foods’ operational efficiency while ensuring a consistent, guided user experience for employees.
“At Festival Foods, we are committed to making decisions that further enhance the experience of our associates and our guests,” said Mark Skogen, CEO and president.
“This partnership is about removing barriers to execution for our teams and simplifying the complexities of running a fresh department so they can focus on delivering a memorable guest experience.”
Ken Wicker, Festival Foods’ SVP of fresh foods, described the decision to go with Upshop as easy.
“We chose Upshop as our partner because they truly understand our business, the intricacies of fresh foods and the processes required for success,” Wicker said.
“With Upshop, we have the confidence that our operation will be optimized and ready to meet the demand of our customers. Festival Foods has invested to build a competitive edge in fresh, and Upshop’s capabilities enable us to scale those advantages.”
Festival Foods anticipates significant improvements in operational efficiency, employee engagement, inventory management and overall customer satisfaction.
Shamus Hines, CEO of Upshop, hailed the partnership, saying it “exemplifies our commitment to empowering retailers with the tools and support needed to succeed.”
“We built our software with the goal of making it effortless for associates and stores to meet the needs of shoppers. Moreover, we have assembled a team of experts who understand how to drive adoption in-store,” Hines said.
