Food-to-go retail chain Greggs has announced it has now redistributed more than five million Too Good to Go ‘surprise bags’ of products that otherwise would have ended up as food waste.
Through a partnership with the food waste reduction marketplace, which has been in place since 2021, the bakery chain is selling goods near the end of their life for a reduced price. Consumers can find these discounted items at more than 2,000 Greggs stores across the UK which are marketed on the Too Good To Go app.
Each bag contains a range of products – from sausage rolls and sandwiches to sweet treats. Customers download the Too Good To Go app, search for their nearest Greggs store, reserve surprise bags, and pick them up at a preset time.
Greggs and Too Good To Go have calculated the food waste prevented though their four-year partnership has helped them avoid the equivalent CO2e emissions that it takes to fly around the world 2,346 times.
The two businesses are now looking at ways to develop their relationship further, and new ‘surprise bag’ trial starting at the end of May in select locations across the east of England is set to be announced imminently.
A spokesperson from Greggs said: “This partnership supports our ‘Greggs Pledge’ to reduce food surplus and make a positive impact on the planet.
“Together with Too Good To Go, we’re helping to fight food waste while offering our customers great value every day.”
Sophie Trueman, country director for UK & Ireland at Too Good To Go, remarked: “Reducing food waste is a real team effort and it’s only made possible by working with partners like this iconic British food brand.
“Every bag saved moves us one step closer to tackling climate change and we are thankful to our partner and consumers for being part of that journey.”
Since its launch in 2016, Too Good To Go has helped to save more than 400 million meals in total from going to waste in partnership with companies such as Morrisons, Harrods, and Booths. It said it now has more than 100 million active users, globally.
[image credit: Greggs]
