Everyone in hospitality seems to be chasing the same things right now: AI; Loyalty; and Guest data.
Respect. That’s fine. And Branded agrees with each of the above as important pursuits. But I want to use this week’s Deal Room to put a spotlight on a lesser-known shift that’s happening in a place nobody is looking at, underwriting.
The old model was built on guesswork and for decades, insurance in foodservice has been a blunt instrument. Historical losses, static audits, self-reported data and a broad “category risk” assumptions.
What does that really mean? Underwriters weren’t pricing risk. They were approximating it. And when something went wrong, especially a recall, the response wasn’t precision. It was panic. Pull everything. Shut it down. Sort it out later.
But something has changed b/c now the data Is showing up.
Enter Starfish, the platform building real-time supply chain connectivity and traceability across the food industry.
But zoom out, because this is bigger than one company. What we're watching is the emergence of an entirely new underwriting layer, one built on data that is real-time, product-level, and system-generated. Not self-reported. Not audited annually. Observed, continuously.
This is the shift, risk is no longer inferred. It’s observed and recalls just got rewritten.
Let’s keep it simple (Schatzy).
The old recall playbook: “We think it’s this batch…” pull product across regions; overcorrect, overpay, overshoot claims.
The new playbook: identify exact lot; trace exact path; and isolate only what matters.
But here's what most people miss about why that matters, to insurers and operators alike. It's not just about accuracy. It's about speed. The difference between a company that can identify and contain a problem in three days versus three weeks isn't a linear difference in outcome, it's exponential. For the insurer, claims compound the longer a recall runs unchecked. For the operator, every additional day means more product pulled, more shelf space lost, more headlines written. A targeted recall isn't just cheaper. It's the difference between a contained incident and a brand-defining crisis.
That’s not optimization. That’s the difference between a bad day and a balance-sheet event.
Recall risk just got a score and here’s the real unlock: a standardized rating for food risk. Let’s call it what it is, a credit score for your supply chain.
Starfish has created the STAR Index: a recall readiness rating that converts traceability, compliance, and response preparedness into a single number. It creates comparability across operators and gives insurers something they've never had before, a clean signal. And once you have a signal, you can price it.
This isn't about insurance. It's about capital. And this is where most people miss it.
Better underwriting doesn't just mean fewer claims and tighter policies. It means capital flows differently. Think about what this means if you're an operator who has invested in your supply chain infrastructure. For the first time, that investment is legible to an insurer. A strong STAR score isn't just a compliance checkbox, it's a competitive asset. It lowers your cost of coverage, signals trust to retail and foodservice partners, and demonstrates that when something goes wrong, you're the company that responds in days, not weeks. That's worth real money on both sides of the policy.
The flip side is equally true. Weak operators face higher costs, or no coverage at all. Carriers that are more confident can be more aggressive.
And the real twist? With better information, insurance starts funding prevention, not just losses.
Here's what makes this even more interesting: this only works at scale. As more suppliers, distributors, and operators plug into networks like Starfish, visibility improves, blind spots disappear, and systemic risk declines. The operators who move early don't just get scored, they get ahead.
And insurers? They don't price individuals. They price systems.
Friends, investors, operators (and insurance carriers and brokers), for years we’ve been focused on the front of house. But the next edge isn’t just better marketing, better tech and a better UX (user experience).
Here’s the money-shot (that’s for you JB), your supply chain is now your insurance profile. And your insurance profile? That’s your cost of capital.
If you’re still thinking about insurance as a line item, you’re missing it b/c in this next cycle, the operators who can prove their risk, will outperform the ones who can only explain it.
To learn more about Starfish, it’s Star Index and opportunities to engage with us, please click here (or contact me directly).
