CSR Podcast with Shake Shack's Supply Chain Guru

The Bard MBA Sustainable Business Friday's Podcast Shake Shack's Jeffery Amoscato on Sourcing Better Burgers and More CSR Initiatives
Jan 22, 2016 2:30 PM ET

Audio File

Jeffrey Amoscato is vice president of supply chain and menu innovation at Shake Shack, which describes itself as a modern day roadside burger stand company, known for selling fresh, locally sourced food in sustainably operated kitchens.

Seven years after Amoscato opened the second Shake Shack in New York City, the company boasts operations across the United States and in six countries. How do you run an international operation but source from local farmers and artisan bakers?

Amoscato said one answer is that Shake Shack keeps the menu small so that the company's sourcing team can be engaged with artisanal and local suppliers. Its menu uses a core ingredient list of 55 to 60 items as staples and then regularly considers 300 or so specialty items.

"In order to be a part of each community, we commit to supporting local makers," he said.

Since 2012, Amoscato has been director of supply chain responsible for all purchasing, culinary and quality assurance functions of Shake Shack. This year he became vice president of supply chain and menu innovation.

This Q&A with Amoscato is an edited excerpt from a "Sustainable Business Fridays" conversation March 27 by the Bard MBA in Sustainability program, a graduate program at Bard College in New York. This twice-monthly dial-in conversation features sustainability leaders from across the globe.

Read the full article on the Bard MBA in Sustainability blog here.