A disruption in one link in the supply chain can cause a ripple effect all the way down to the consumer. When a manufacturer—supplying 40% of U.S. infant formula–went out of business last year, it caused a chain of events which affected distribution costs and wages for the companies picking up the slack.

While inflation is cooling, it still left damage in its wake. When suppliers can no longer keep up with costs, they go out of business. When those suppliers can no longer fulfill retailers and consumers’ needs, the retailers must quickly scramble to find alternatives, which sometimes is costly and time-consuming as some products must go through rigorous testing to compare ingredients.

In Food Business News, Roxi Beck, consumer engagement director, Center for Food Integrity, noted, “We have an incredible supply chain that is also incredibly fragile.” Finding alternative products and innovative technology to prevent massive disruptions will keep suppliers and retailers and consumers satisfied and in business.

Another hiccup in the supply chain is keeping up with the demand and delivering safe products. This can get tricky when products must be temperature-controlled, like with frozen food. And when consumer demand for frozen foods spike, the supply chain must be able to keep up efficiently.

According to CNBC, “Consumers are buying more frozen products. It’s going to require more storage capability and a more efficient supply chain,” Brian Choi, CEO and managing partner of The Food Institute, told CNBC.

Approximately 13% of all food produced globally is lost due to poor cold storage supply chains every year, according to a study from Columbia University’s Climate School.

“In the world of cooling refrigeration, we’re still depending upon a more than century-old mechanical incumbent,” Tony Atti, CEO of Phononic, a solid-state cooling company, told CNBC.

Phononic, on CNBC’s 2023 Disrupter list, aims to minimize food waste. One of its products is a temp-sensitive refrigerator tote that allows shippers to spend less getting food to e-grocers and grocery stores. 

Michigan-based Lineage Logistics, also a CNBC 2023 Disrupter, has 430 locations across 20 countries which specialize in temperature-controlled storage and “blast freezing” to ensure product safety and efficiency.

From the forecourt to inside the store, inflationary pressures on convenience stores affected operations across the U.S. convenience retail industry in 2022. Access comprehensive industry benchmarks in this newly released NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2022 Data, available now in digital and limited print.