It's Time to Rethink Food Waste

Around 811 million people around the world are undernourished. Yet, every year, almost 2.5 billion tons of food produce goes uneaten. With rising inflation leading to increased food prices in many regions, concern around food waste and loss* is growing. Our research found that consumer consciousness of food waste increased from 33% to 72% over the last two years, driven by concern over cost savings (56%), alleviating world hunger (52%) and climate change (51%).

As sustainability, ethics and business concerns collide, grocers and supermarkets have a pivotal role to play. There is a clear opportunity for the biggest players in the food retail sector to lead the charge, making a positive impact to reduce waste from production through to consumption. This will require a systemic response that marries the latest technologies with new consumer education initiatives.

Linking the food chain

Of the 2.5 billion tons of food lost and wasted annually, 37% typically occurs in-store or by consumers, but the rest is attributed to production and processing.

Currently supermarkets are taking a fragmented approach to food loss and waste. Our research shows that grocers are focusing food waste initiatives primarily on upstream logistics, processing and packaging, rather than areas such as agricultural production and downstream storage, where a large proportion of food loss occurs. ??

If food waste is to be tackled effectively, there needs to be a consistent approach across the value chain. We’ve seen positive action in this direction. Around 11% of businesses are scaling initiatives for ‘imperfect produce’ (such as Aldi Australia), and 13% have scaled up planning solutions to reduce waste in the storage, transportation, and distribution stages (such as M&S Foods).

Technology can do a lot of the heavy lifting to deliver a positive impact. Grocers must work more collaboratively with their suppliers and enhance data sharing across the value chain to identify where the most food is being wasted or lost. After all, businesses can only fix problems they can see.

However, our research shows that only 14% of organizations across industries – including retail and consumer products – are currently engaged in highly collaborative data-sharing models with their supply-chain partners.

Walmart is a good example of a company taking positive steps. The retail giant is increasing the sell-through of its food products through better forecasting and ordering tools. This enables greater visibility across its value chain.

Helping consumers to help themselves

Grocers may be able to influence what happens in their stores, and to some extent their supply chains, but what about when products leave their shelves? ?

Our research finds that nearly two thirds of consumers (61%) want brands and retailers to do more to help them make positive changes. 60% of consumers feel guilty about wasting food but only a third (33%) are getting helpful information about how to tackle the issue from food manufacturers and retailers, for example, information on packaging, in commercials or through marketing campaigns. When it comes to increasing food longevity at home, two-thirds (68%) are seeking information from friends and family, social media, and websites.

As an illustration, only 35% of consumers stated that they fully understand the difference between date labels. As an effort to help their customers, back in 2016, Walmart mandated standardized expiration date labels from their suppliers to clear up confusion. In the UK, grocer Marks & Spencer has announced that it is dropping best-before dates entirely for fruit and vegetables.

Supermarkets can up their game in areas such as product innovation, packaging and clarity of date labels. This can help educate consumers. For instance, supermarkets could utilize digital labels (QR codes, etc.) that can provide consumers with more information on the product’s journey and quality.

To encourage a shift in consumer behavior by helping with meal planning, Kroger launched Chef Bot, an AI-powered Twitter recipe tool that helps users get through existing groceries in their fridge and reduce food waste by providing mealtime inspiration and personalized recommendations. In the UK, Sainsbury’s recently opened a pop-up store, Sainsfreeze, which offers free food to visitors and educates them on freezing fresh produce to mitigate waste.

Positive changes begin with supermarkets

Supermarkets have an important role in addressing food waste, and thankfully there are a variety of options at their disposal. Forward-thinking, technology-enhanced initiatives can give organizations an edge in meeting consumer demands and improving brand loyalty, whilst also tackling a serious sustainability issue, and helping to address the rising costs associated with food waste.

Recent technological leaps in the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions are available to help build agile and intelligent supply chains, which enable transparency and strengthen the collaboration among ecosystem partners. Take IoT as an example, deploying it in cold chains (production, storage and distribution of refrigerated goods) can help organizations harness data-driven insight, enhance traceability, and monitor the quality of perishables. Smart solutions can also automate scheduling and loading levels in the face of fluctuating demand, helping organizations manage stock levels.

Similarly, technology can aid in tracking and assessing food waste, enabling action at the right time, as well as making consumers an active participant in mitigating waste.

There are huge opportunities for grocers to tackle food waste from farm to fork, but only the ones committed to a systemic response will create a positive impact.

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*Food loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoiled, or otherwise lost, or incurs a deterioration in quality and value before reaching the final product stage. Food waste refers to food that has progressed to become a consumable product but is not consumed