The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

It’s easy to get swept up in the news and activities of the industry’s global titans, but what about the smaller firms that are out there flexing their creative muscles? In this instalment of ‘Start-up of the month’ – which celebrates the lesser-known companies and their innovations – we speak to Ilya Preston, co-founder and CEO of PAXAFE, an AI-enabled, device-agnostic risk-management platform that reduces product loss, improves operational efficiency and optimises decision making for cold chain shippers and carriers.

How does PAXAFE’s CONTXT platform specifically address the unique challenges faced by food and beverage companies in managing cold chain logistics?

Look, managing cold chain logistics for food and beverage is brutal. There’s no room for error, one small temperature deviation, and you are throwing out an entire shipment of perishable goods. That is why we built our platform to be more than just a tracking tool. It is a decision-intelligence platform that does not just tell you where your shipments are, it predicts risks before they happen.

Our AI models factor in everything from weather patterns to lane reliability, giving food manufacturers the ability to take proactive steps, not just react after it is too late. We are not here to add another dashboard to your plate, we want to give a one dashboard for all pertinent items within your supply chain...we are here to make sure fewer shipments are lost and waste is minimised.

What role does real-time data play in ensuring that food and beverage products are delivered on time and in optimal condition, especially with perishable goods?

The biggest misconception is that real-time tracking alone is enough. It isn’t. Just knowing where your shipment is does not prevent a temperature excursion. What actually makes a difference is being able to predict an issue before it happens. That is why we built features like Predictive Time to Excursion (PTE) and Predictive Time of Arrival (PTA), so companies are not scrambling when something goes wrong. We give food manufacturers the data they need to make smart, timely decisions to prevent spoilage and delays. Less scrambling, more control.

Food manufacturers often face temperature fluctuations and product spoilage. How does PAXAFE proactively predict and mitigate these risks in the supply chain?

The way the industry has handled this problem for decades is pretty outdated, relying on post-shipment data loggers and hoping for the best. That is not how we operate. At PAXAFE, we take a data-driven, AI-powered approach to identifying high-risk routes before shipments even hit the road. By analysing thousands of variables, like carrier performance, external weather conditions, packaging integrity and lane risk history, we help food manufacturers make better decisions upfront. That means fewer rejected shipments, fewer financial losses, and ultimately, fewer headaches.

With sustainability becoming a priority in the food industry, how does PAXAFE’s platform contribute to reducing waste and improving the sustainability of cold chain operations?

Food waste is a massive problem – almost a third of all food globally gets wasted, much of it due to logistics failures. That’s unacceptable. The reality is, the best way to be sustainable is to prevent spoilage before it happens. At PAXAFE, we help companies reduce waste by ensuring their perishable goods stay within safe temperature ranges, reducing unnecessary re-shipments and over-packaging. It is a win-win: better supply chain efficiency, lower operational costs and a meaningful reduction in environmental impact.

What are some of the most common operational risks in food and beverage logistics, and how does PAXAFE’s technology help companies address them?

Food logistics is one of the hardest industries to operate in because the margin for error is razor-thin. The most common problems I hear from our customers are:

• Temperature excursions leading to spoilage

• Last-mile delivery issues impacting freshness

• Inconsistent carrier performance

• High intervention costs due to manual monitoring

PAXAFE directly addresses these challenges with AI-driven risk modelling and automation. Instead of reacting to problems, we predict and prevent them. We help businesses pinpoint risky lanes, optimise carrier choices and reduce manual monitoring by up to 40%. This isn’t just theory, our customers are saving millions of dollars in spoilage and wasted logistics costs.

PAXAFE serves high-profile food and beverage companies. Can you share any specific success stories where your platform has made a tangible impact?

One of our customers – a major perishable food distributor – was constantly losing shipments due to temperature fluctuations, especially on international routes. By using our Lane Risk Assessment tool, they were able to identify exactly which carriers, routes and packaging configurations were causing the most failures. Within a few months, they reduced rejected shipments by 30%, saved hundreds of thousands of dollars and cut their intervention costs almost in half. That is the kind of real-world impact we focus on at PAXAFE – practical solutions that deliver measurable results.

In what ways does PAXAFE ensure that smaller food and beverage businesses can benefit from cutting-edge logistics technology without the need for a large financial investment?

Not every food company has the budget of a Fortune 500 brand, and we get that. That is why we built our platform to be scalable and device-agnostic, meaning you don’t need to buy expensive proprietary IoT sensors to benefit from our technology. Whether you are a regional supplier or a national brand, our AI-powered logistics tools integrate with whatever systems you are already using, helping you optimise cold chain performance without breaking the bank.

As consumer demand for fresh, local and organic products increases, how is PAXAFE helping companies maintain supply chain efficiency while meeting these expectations?

The rise of farm-to-table, organic and fresh local goods has completely reshaped food logistics. Consumers expect higher quality and faster delivery, but that also means more complexity, more stops and more temperature-sensitive shipments. PAXAFE helps companies navigate this complexity by using AI to optimise last-mile delivery, reduce transit delays and ensure real-time quality monitoring. Whether you are shipping organic produce or high-end dairy products, we give you the insights needed to protect freshness and keep customers happy.

What advice would you give to food and beverage start-ups looking to scale their operations and improve their supply chain resilience?

The biggest mistake I see is scaling too quickly without visibility into their logistics risks. If you do not have a handle on temperature control, carrier performance or packaging integrity, you will start running into major issues as you grow. My advice?

• Invest in data-driven logistics early. Do not wait until you have supply chain problems to solve them.

• Automate risk monitoring. You do not need a huge team to keep shipments safe – AI can do it for you.

• Choose partners that grow with you. Make sure your logistics tech can scale without requiring huge capital investments.

If you get these things right, you will build a resilient, cost-efficient supply chain that supports growth, not holds it back.

Looking forward, how do you see the future of cold chain logistics evolving in the food and beverage industry, and what innovations can we expect from PAXAFE?

Cold chain logistics is evolving fast and the companies that embrace automation and AI will have a massive competitive edge. We are moving toward a future where manual intervention will be a thing of the past, instead, AI-driven predictive logistics will automate risk assessment, optimise carrier selection and even suggest real-time corrective actions.

At PAXAFE, we are investing heavily in automated decision intelligence so that our customers can focus on growing their business instead of constantly putting out fires. Cold chain logistics should be a strategic advantage, not a liability. The companies that get this right will dominate the market.

At the end of the day, food logistics is about getting fresh, safe products to customers with zero waste. We built PAXAFE to make that process smarter, more efficient and more predictable. If you are in the food and beverage industry and you are tired of losing money to cold chain failures, let’s talk – we will show you how to take control of your logistics and start winning with data.