Exclusive: Whole Foods to deploy novel food recycling tech
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A new kind of AI-supercharged food recycler will turn fruit and vegetable scraps at Whole Foods into chicken feed — which will then help produce the grocer's own eggs.
Why it matters: The technology can shrink waste volumes by up to 80%, according to its maker, startup Mill, cutting greenhouse gas emissions from food waste and saving Whole Foods money.
- "Waste is one of the largest sectors of the economy that most folks in our industry overlook," Mill co-founder and CEO Matt Rogers told Axios in an interview Monday.
Driving the news: Amazon and Mill are partnering to roll out the bins across Whole Foods stores by 2027, the companies tell Axios exclusively.
- Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, is also investing an undisclosed amount in Mill, founded in 2020.
Follow the money: Mill has raised a total of $250 million since its founding, the startup also shared exclusively with Axios.
- In addition to Amazon, via its Climate Pledge Fund, other investors include Prelude, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lower Carbon, Energy Impact Partners and Google Ventures.
The big picture: Food loss and waste account for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the United Nations.
Fun fact: At least in this system, the chicken wins the chicken-or-egg debate.
- "This is something we've envisioned from the start: building a circular loop," said Rogers, who co-founded Nest, the smart thermostat company Google acquired in 2014 for $3.2 billion. "We pioneered this food waste — to animal feed — to egg pathway."
Catch up fast: Until now, Mill has focused its business on homes and workplaces, selling a device about the size of a garbage bin.
- This partnership represents the first move by the startup into grocery stores with a larger product equipped for larger volumes.
How it works: The machine dehydrates and grinds food scraps into coffee-ground-like material that can be composted or fed to chickens.
- Mill's AI-equipped bins will allow Amazon — and eventually other grocery stores and restaurants — to analyze in real time what's being wasted.
- "If all croissants are being thrown out, maybe they should bake fewer croissants," Rogers said.
The intrigue: He predicts real-world applications like Mill's will ultimately determine whether today's AI hype delivers on its promise.
- Rogers, who was a key figure in Apple's early iPod and iPhone products, said that eventually, society focused not just on those products, but the apps that live on them — like Airbnb and Uber.
- "The appetite for things that actually use AI is enormous," Rogers said.
Reality check: Rogers noted that other companies have tried similar efforts.
- "This is technically very difficult to build," he acknowledged.
- It's seeking to overcome hurdles by ensuring it works within existing kitchen and trash rooms, and by offering real-time analytics powered by AI, Rogers said.
What's next: Rogers said Mill will begin engaging restaurants as its next commercial customers "immediately."
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