cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Food Waste Is The New Sales Driver: 4 Ways Kroger, Walmart Are Changing Shopper Thinking - Forbes
There’s a new food pyramid on the minds of supermarket operators these days: It’s about the size of a great Egyptian pyramid, and there are six of them.
That’s about the amount of food, 72 billion pounds, that ends up in landfills and incinerators each year, and more food sellers are trying to find ways to stop it. It’s a matter of good business as much as good citizenry: nearly 40% of the food wasted in the U.S. is thrown out by consumers, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and when it goes to waste so does the water, soil and fertilizer — not to speak of labor — that went into producing it.
There’s a legitimate profit potential for reducing food waste. ReFED, a collaboration of 50 retailers, government leaders and organizations, estimates the cost of food waste is more than double its original profit potential, calculating it as an $18.2 billion opportunity for grocers. Further, 92% of surveyed shoppers feel supermarkets could do more to eliminate waste.
There’s a new food pyramid on the minds of supermarket operators these days: It’s about the size of a great Egyptian pyramid, and there are six of them.
That’s about the amount of food, 72 billion pounds, that ends up in landfills and incinerators each year, and more food sellers are trying to find ways to stop it. It’s a matter of good business as much as good citizenry: nearly 40% of the food wasted in the U.S. is thrown out by consumers, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and when it goes to waste so does the water, soil and fertilizer — not to speak of labor — that went into producing it.
There’s a legitimate profit potential for reducing food waste. ReFED, a collaboration of 50 retailers, government leaders and organizations, estimates the cost of food waste is more than double its original profit potential, calculating it as an $18.2 billion opportunity for grocers. Further, 92% of surveyed shoppers feel supermarkets could do more to eliminate waste.