# Augmenting Supply Chains with IoT | Peter Mehring, Founder & CEO, Zest Labs

- Show: [IoT For All Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast)
- Published: 2019-06-12
- Length: 48m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs
- Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iot-for-all/episodes/Augmenting-Supply-Chains-with-IoT--Peter-Mehring--Founder--CEO--Zest-Labs-e28bp4v

## Summary

Peter Mehring, Founder & CEO of Zest Labs, explains how IoT sensors monitor fresh food at the pallet level to reduce waste and improve labor utilization in the supply chain. He details the discovery that product history, not just transit temperature, drives spoilage, leading to Zest Labs' 'Zest Fresh' solution which provides corrective actions rather than raw data. Mehring shares how he overcame customer adoption hurdles by framing the technology as a margin-improvement tool, citing a successful pilot with Costco that increased average shelf life from 3 days to nearly 10 days for lettuce.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=1) Introduction and Peter Mehring's Background
- [4:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=276) Root Causes of Food Waste and Respiration Rates
- [9:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=580) Building the Zest Fresh IoT Solution
- [14:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=840) Customer Adoption and Education Challenges
- [18:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=1089) Handling Mixed Loads and Intelligent Routing
- [20:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=1200) Impact on Best-By Dates and Consumer Experience
- [24:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=1480) Labor Utilization and Autonomous Farming
- [29:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=1786) Case Study: Working with Costco
- [38:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2019-06-12-augmenting-supply-chains-with-iot-peter-mehring-founder-ceo-zest-labs#t=2315) Environmental Impact and Future of IoT in Agriculture

## Topics

- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Zest Labs (company)
- Zest Fresh (product)
- Echelon (company)
- Apple (company)
- Costco (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Amazon (company)
- NRDC (company)
- Refed (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Family Businesses, Moneyball, and Supply Chain Innovation with ShelfAware CEO Andrew Johnson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2020-10-13-family-businesses-moneyball-and-supply-chain-innovation-with-shelfaware-ceo-andr) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [HIBT Lab! Too Good To Go: Lucie Basch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-03-09-hibt-lab-too-good-to-go-lucie-basch) (How I Built This)
- [Implementing Tech into Fresh-Food Vending Machines with Arne Saupe, VP of Technology at Farmer’s Fridge](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2023-03-30-implementing-tech-into-fresh-food-vending-machines-with-arne-saupe-vp-of-technol) (Over the Air)
- [Implementing a Winning IoT Strategy at the Enterprise Level with Josh Becker of SAS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2023-02-16-implementing-a-winning-iot-strategy-at-the-enterprise-level-with-josh-becker-of) (Over the Air)
- [Misfits Market: Abhi Ramesh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-03-31-misfits-market-abhi-ramesh) (How I Built This)

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