Dive Brief:
- Tops Friendly Markets will pilot the interactive food waste purchasing program Flashfood at six of its New York locations, the company reported.
- Through the Flashfood app, customers can shop for products coming up to their sell-by date for a discounted price. Items like produce, bakery, meat, deli and dairy can be listed for up to 50% off, according to Tops.
- Customers use the Flashfood app to browse products posted by Tops and place their orders. Once ready, orders can be picked up in a designated area at the participating Tops location.
Dive Insight:
Tops is boosting its sustainability efforts through this Flashfood partnership and making a few extra bucks along the way.
Food waste reduction is a large part of Tops’ sustainability goals, according to the company. To reach these goals, the retailer has partnered with MOPAC, a company with an oil recycling program and Organix Recycling, a recycling company that prioritizes food waste. Last year, Tops recycled more than 834 tons of inedible food, according to Tops’ website.
Reducing food waste with Flashfood provides customers with deep discounts and also benefits Tops along the way. Instead of tossing or recycling or throwing out products nearing their expiration date, Tops can still sell them and reduce shrink in its perishables department.
Other major retailers have the same idea, as Flashfood has also partnered with Hy-Vee, SpartanNash and Meijer, among others.
Food waste is a hot topic with grocers, who want to gain both the cost and public relations benefits that come with waste reduction. According to waste management firm Quest, 10% or 43 billion pounds of food in grocery stores never makes it off the shelf, and 30% of a grocery store’s trash is food waste.
Research indicates grocers are improving on this front. A 2018 report card from the Center for Biological Diversity that graded grocers on their food waste efforts awarded no A's, with Walmart earning the lone B grade. A year later, the organization awarded three grocers — Kroger, Ahold Delhaize and Walmart — with an A grade.
