CHICAGO, IL - Another iconic industry partnership is coming to fruition as Hazel Technologies scoops up its latest partner. Gaining prowess in the exotic tropical produce category, Hazel is partnering with Miami, Florida-based Fruits n’ Rootz to continue fighting against food waste.

“Food waste is one of the largest social issues facing the world today,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO of Hazel Technologies. “Our goals at Hazel are to not only support our partners like Fruits n’ Rootz in their efforts to fight world hunger, but also to provide our waste-reducing technologies across the globe.”

Fruits n’ Rootz specializes in the shipment of rare produce items directly to consumers. Offerings include a wide variety of fresh tropical fruits such as soursop, mamey, cherimoya, and specialty banana varieties, according to a press release. As consumer interest in online delivery has skyrocketed in 2020, Fruits n’ Rootz has reached over half a million Instagram followers and ships 20,000 boxes per month across the United States and Canada.

‍

One persistent challenge with shipping tropical fruit long distances is the extremely high level of perishability, with fruits like soursop frequently having a shelf life of less than seven days. For Fruits n’ Rootz, spoiled fruit was adding up, resulting in not only lower sales, but also lower social impact as a fraction of the sales for each fruit box is donated to support hungry children in Africa through iheartAfrica. Following the implementation of Hazel Tech® in 2020, shrink levels have decreased for Fruits n’ Roots.

“Since incorporating Hazel into our tropical fruit boxes, we have observed approximately 40 percent lower quality complaints from customers,” said Krystal Pitt, Co-Founder and CEO of Fruits n’ Rootz. “Hazel not only allows us to reach more consumers with quality fruit, but also give back to communities in need more generously.”

‍