US-based online grocer Farmstead has launched a new feature that aims to reduce food waste by reminding customers what’s in their refrigerator.

Farmstead says it is the first online only grocer to have precise sell by date inventory control and automated procurement systems for perishables.

As a result, most products are sourced closer to customers, and keep fresh at home longer than comparables from supermarkets.

Farmstead’s email receipts have now been updated with Eat This First sections to alert customers when it makes sense to consume particular products sooner than later.

Every @farmsteadapp grocery receipt now has a new section called “Eat This First”.

It tells you which perishable items in your order to eat before the rest, to help you cut down accidental food waste at home.

No more old food you forgot to eat in the back of your fridge! pic.twitter.com/YmAbuZz0O2
— Pradeep Elankumaran (@pradeep24) April 15, 2022

“Food waste reduction has been a core tenet of Farmstead since our founding,” says Pradeep Elankumaran, Co-founder and CEO at Farmstead.

“We developed our own in-house logistics and inventory software specifically to reduce food waste in our own warehouses. While a typical grocery store has 30 to 40% food waste, Farmstead is in the single digits. In introducing Eat This First, we’re extending that capability out to each customer.”

“We are the only online grocer able to deliver it due to our digitised inventory control.”

“We have the precise technology and the data to help our customers reduce their food waste at home and we think the steps we’re taking will become a model for the grocery industry, and we’re calling on all grocers to think about these important issues - as their customers already are.”

Customers are automatically signed up to receive the new Eat This First receipts via email. They also have the option to opt-out.

Farmstead originally launched in the San Francisco Bay area, and then expanded to Chicago, Miami, Fla., Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, NC, with more cities to come in 2022.

The venture taps proprietary AI technology and a dark store model, It says that, as a result, it offers prices comparable to or lower than most supermarkets, but with free delivery to doorstep.

The company is planning to expand nationwide to a primarily suburban, mid-market audience.

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