Meijer pilots Flashfood app in US supermarkets to slash food waste

22 Nov 2019 --- US supermarket chain Meijer is piloting the Flashfood app in some of its stores in a bid to reduce food waste. Customers will be able to use the app to purchase food – including meat, produce, seafood, and deli and bakery products – nearing its best-buy date at up to 50 percent off. The purchased food will be stored in a refrigerator or storage rack located in the front of each of the participating Metro Detroit supercenters until picked up by the customer. This move comes as consumers place an increased emphasis on sustainability, with food waste being one of the largest contributors to global carbon dioxide emissions.

“Food is at the core of what we do, and we are constantly looking at ways to minimize in-store waste because it’s the right thing to do for our communities and our customers,” says Don Sanderson, Group Vice President of Fresh for Meijer. “We are excited to work with Flashfood and learn how much food can be spared from landfills.”

Flashfood is a Canadian-based company that allows retailers to upload surplus close-dated foods to an app. Customers go to the app, select a Meijer store, choose the items they want to purchase and pay for them directly on the app. Then they can pick up their items in-store and confirm their order with customer service.

“Bringing the Metro Detroit community the ability to buy such great food at huge discounts while reducing food waste is exciting. Both teams are thrilled about the impact we’re bringing to market in this pilot,” adds Josh Domingues, Founder & CEO of Flashfood.

In addition to testing the Flashfood app, Meijer has a Food Rescue program that donated more than 10.6 million pounds of food in 2018 to local food banks. The supermarket also tries to reuse food waste created during the manufacturing process of its foods. For example, waste from Meijer dairy facilities in Ohio and Michigan are being turned into animal feed, and fresh food byproducts from Indiana and Michigan are sent for anaerobic digestion and are turned into compost.

“Reducing food waste is an important goal at Meijer,” says Erik Petrovskis, Director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability. “There are creative solutions throughout a food’s life cycle that can reduce landfill use and production of greenhouse gases, and I’m pleased we’re looking at another in-store option that benefits our customers.”Over one billion metric tons of food are collectively lost or wasted every year along the food supply chain.

A pressing concern
Over one billion metric tons of food are collectively lost or wasted every year along the food supply chain, and actions to prevent further misuse cannot come quickly enough, according to the World Resources Institute. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been calling for informed decisions for an effective waste reduction and offers new ways to measure progress. In September, FAO’s Director-General noted that the food industry needs to do more to support healthy foods and to reduce food loss and waste throughout the farm-to-fork cycle.

In response, numerous apps have been cropping up to help stores avoid food waste while offering consumers deep discounts. Denmark-based Too Good To Go allows consumers to purchase a “Magic Box” with a surprise assortment of food products from participating stores that would have otherwise been thrown away. 

A study conducted at Wageningen University and Research found that the three main drivers for using the app were reducing food waste, the surprise element of the boxes’ contents and saving money. Too Good To Go has also been partnering with companies including Unilever, Carlsberg and Arla to add the Danish phrase for “often good after” on packaging. This will alert consumers to the loose nature of best-before dates, and encourage them to use their senses to asses the status of the food. 

Meanwhile, UK-based Olio allows users – businesses and consumers alike – to give away their surplus food for free, with some major supermarkets participating. The donations can be on an ad-hoc or recurrent basis, and may also be sealed or open. Additionally, it has long been the norm in most UK supermarkets for food nearing expiry to be steeply discounted – sometimes by up to 95 percent.

Edited by Katherine Durrell