Iceland Foods has rolled out a new scheme called ‘Free on Last Day of Life’ as part of its efforts to reduce food waste. The initiative will see online shoppers offered free products when the last day of shelf life has been reached and no other stock is available.
Traditionally, food items delivered by Iceland has a minimum shelf life of at least two days. However, products close to expiry will now be given away to prevent them being wasted.
When an online order is placed, if the only product available has the same day date it will be scanned and labelled. It’s then put with the rest of the order and the shopper will made aware of the free item ahead of delivery. All chilled, fresh, cakes, bread & morning goods will be included in the scheme.
A trial of the Free on Last Day of Life scheme was launched in 40 of Iceland’s stores this summer. This saw more than 17,000 items given away for free with shoppers receiving an average refund of £1.58 per order. The retailer stated that the trial had proved a success and was now been rolled out across all 1,000 of its stores.
Iceland expects the initiative to provide its customers with more than 1.3 million free items over the year, equating to £500k in retail value.
Reducing food waste is a huge priority for us as we continue to reduce our impact on the environment,” said Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland Foods.
“We know that shelf-life plays a big role in the creation of surplus food so we to have find an innovative way to combat this within our stores and via our online shopping. Our Free on Last Day of Life scheme not only helps reduce food waste but also supports our customers. We know cost is key to many of our shoppers and this new initiative allows us to offer them the opportunity to reduce their weekly shopping bills as well as helping to reduce food waste.”
In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal SDG 12.3, Iceland has set itself a target to achieve a 50% reduction of food waste in its operations by 2030.
As a next step, the retailer has plans to redistribute surplus food in new ways and its aim for 2021/22 is to redistribute one million meals, through existing and new food waste partnerships. Iceland is also looking at additional ways to further reduce food surplus, such as improving existing schemes and engaging in new business models.
NAM Implications:
- ‘…we to have find an innovative way to combat (food waste)…’ says it all, for most retailers.
- But what makes Iceland different is the imaginative way they package the idea…
- Their ‘Free on Last Day of Life scheme’ not only helps reduce food waste but also supports our customers.
- (in a way that also grabs headlines….)
- Watch this space…
