Cool It!

Consistency is a beautiful thing. From a customer perspective, it provides comfort; your favorite chain restaurant offers a similar experience whether you’re dining in Atlanta or San Francisco. From a business owner’s perspective, it provides efficiency; process consistency saves time and resources.

When someone mentions Thanksgiving dinner, the image that traditionally comes to mind includes turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. As one of the very few commercially grown fruits native to the United States, the cranberry symbolically represents an American harvest on our holiday tables. Cranberries are primarily grown in northern regions such as Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and the Pacific Northwest, with Wisconsin producing more than half of the world’s total crop. 

Last month we detailed the Americold Operating System (AOS) – our unique business ecosystem – and the operational rigor it promotes among and between Americold’s network of integrated temperature-controlled warehouses. Read more here. This month, we’re looking at how the consistency this ecosystem delivers translates into dependable uniformity for our customers, as well as saved time and money. We’ll also explore AOS innovation and its benefits.

Consistency. It’s a familiar key deliverable for food producers and food retailers that builds a strong foundation for brand loyalty. In the service industry, executing consistency looks different; drivers like safety and supply chain remain crucial, but elements like innovation and process optimization emerge as important factors.

What’s the most popular frozen food sold in the United States? ICE CREAM!^[1] As the largest consumer of ice cream around the world, it’s fitting that the United States celebrates National Ice Cream Month every July. The average American consumes more than 23 pounds of ice cream per year.^[2]  While vanilla remains the most popular flavor, there are plenty of creative flavors out there to satisfy any taste bud.  At Americold, our temperature-controlled infrastructure and services help your favorite frozen treats get from where they’re produced to your freezer or neighborhood ice cream shop.  Here’s the scoop on ice cream by our numbers: 

For more information on Americold’s offerings and our ice cream cold capabilities, contact us. Let's talk!

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/253370/us-frozen-food-sales-by-product-category/
[2] https://www.idfa.org/ice-cream-sales-trends#:~:text=Consumption,popular%20category%20of%20frozen%20desserts.

Food is not only a necessity, it’s a comfort. Having a good day? Grab some ice cream! Having a bad day? Make it a double scoop. But have you ever stopped to think about how your food goes from manufacturer to table?

We recently spoke with Pat Ballard, Americold's VP Business Development for Key Accounts in the Protein vertical, to catch up on the temperature-controlled protein supply chain.  Read on to hear his insights...

That is certainly the question now as demand for food variety, and consequently food storage, accelerates. In general, demand for food increases roughly in line with inflation - the more people there are, the more food is consumed. But today's consumers expect more choice - more variety - and more convenience. CBRE reports food sales have increased 24% in just the last 5 years! An analogy often conveyed during our meetings is to ask people to consider the size of the frozen pizza section in a local grocery store 15-20 years ago. Maybe it was a cabinet of two with 4 flavors from a handful of frozen pizza manufacturers. And look at that same produce now... multiply that out for the majority products a typical grocery store offers and you can see why there can be 50-60,000 SKUS under that one roof!