Market Overview & Growth - The global electronic shelf label (ESL) market was valued at $185 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $754 billion by 2033 [1] - The ESL industry is expected to experience significant double-digit year-over-year growth in the foreseeable future [2] - ESLs are increasingly adopted in supermarkets to improve operational efficiency [2] Benefits of ESLs - ESLs can instantly communicate deals and savings, display nutritional and allergy information, and help retailers limit their carbon footprint [7] - ESLs can increase customer satisfaction with product information by 15% [7] - ESLs enable efficient price changes via work phones and LED lights for faster online order preparation and restocking [8] - Dynamic pricing facilitated by ESLs can reduce food waste by 21%, increase gross margins by 3%, and consumer surplus by 03% [9] Concerns & Regulations - Lawmakers are concerned that ESLs may lead to dynamic pricing that could exploit consumers during times of high demand [3] - The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) fined grocery stores nearly $500 million for using price hunters, a practice ESLs could accelerate, reducing competition and raising prices [17][18] - The Federal Trade Commission found that 250 businesses engage in surveillance pricing, potentially targeting individual consumers with different prices [20] Implementation & Costs - Walmart plans to roll out ESLs to 2300 stores by 2026 [5] - The initial cost of a 10,000 tag ESL system can be up to $100,000 [13] - Higher labor costs and rigidity in labor markets incentivize the adoption of ESLs [11][12] Dynamic Pricing & Future Trends - Retailers could use ESLs to implement dynamic pricing based on market conditions, demand, competition, and consumer behavior [5] - Dynamic pricing can benefit both stores and consumers by reducing food waste through markdowns on near-expiration items [6][7] - Price wars may occur as companies monitor competitor prices in real-time using ESLs [15] - Expiration date markdowns and competitive pricing are potential applications of dynamic pricing [29]

Food Waste Problem - Roughly 40% of any given crop is left in the field due to cosmetic imperfections, translating to 40 billion pounds of wasted produce [4][5] - This wasted produce represents lost revenue for farmers and nutritious food that doesn't reach communities [5] - The current system lacks a secondary market for produce at scale in the United States [5] Planet Harvest's Solution - Planet Harvest was founded to address food waste at the field level by purchasing the whole harvest from farmers [3][5] - The company aims to create structural change in how the whole harvest is valued by consumers [14] - Planet Harvest focuses on partnering with larger companies to drive volume and impact for farmers [12] Partnership with Chobani - Chobani is partnering with Planet Harvest to rescue 15 million pounds of strawberries from being discarded [1][9] - Chobani is now sourcing all of its strawberries through Planet Harvest, translating to tens of millions of cups of yogurt and fruit drinks [10][11] - This partnership extends to other SKUs like Blackberry and Stone Fruit [11] Business Model - Planet Harvest operates as a for-profit company to achieve scale and impact more quickly [12][15] - The company also engages in philanthropy by giving back in the form of feeding those in need with nutritious food [14] - Buying the whole harvest is life-changing for farmers, enabling generational planning and investment [17]