Spar International has announced a partnership with Whywaste, as it looks to use technology to tackle food waste across its operations.
Spar stores will be able to use Whywaste’s digital solutions in their day-to-day work as part of food waste reduction efforts. It comes as Spar in the UK is already working with Too Good To Go and Gander – apps which help retailers find a new home for near-end-of-life food by marketing items online to consumers for a markdown price.
Whywaste aims to reduce the need for throwing away food in the first place by providing an array of tools for retail staff to use each day. In the tech company’s portfolio is a digital date-checking app that identifies and keeps track of products that are about to reach their sell-by date.
The Sweden-based tech firm, which is headquartered in Stockholm, says identifying products at risk of reaching this date at an early stage helps retailers take the appropriate action to ensure goods are sold rather than wasted.
Results from Spar stores using Whywaste’s tech during a trial phase show some of the symbol group’s retailers reduced their food waste by 40%.
Tom Rose, head of international operations at Spar International, commented: “At Spar International we are always looking for new and innovative ways to meet the needs of our customers, which is why our partnership with Whywaste, an end-to-end digital solution for food waste in retail, is an ideal fit for us.
“Technology to support the green agenda is becoming a permanent fixture in retail and Spar International is wholeheartedly behind this trend.”
Whywaste co-founder & CEO, Kristoffer Hagstedt, added: “I think Spar’s philosophy “Better Together” definitely also applies in the fight against food waste and believe that together Spar and Whywaste can have a real impact on reducing the waste.
“That’s what we need from leaders in the industry, to lead in the right direction.”
Whywaste also works with Asda in the UK, and has plans to grow its business across Europe.
[Image credit: Spar]
