NETHERLANDS- British multinational consumer goods company Unilever and Too Good To Go’s latest pilot program allow consumers to have Unilever brands delivered directly to their door via an app, cutting costs and food waste.
According to Unilever, consumers can use the app to reserve and pick up discounted products that would otherwise be thrown away, from nearby restaurants, bakeries or supermarkets.
“We have halved our food waste from production to supermarket shelves in the Netherlands in the past two years,” says Debora van der Zee-Denekamp, general manager at Unilever Nutrition Northern Europe.
“Our work with Too Good To Go is part of that and this new opportunity to deliver products that can no longer be sold through regular channels directly to people’s homes is really exciting.”
Up to one-third of the food produced worldwide is currently being thrown away, much of it while it is still perfectly safe to eat, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Too Good to Go connects people to food suppliers who are selling entirely edible leftover products, being closer to their “best before” date.
With 3.5 million users in the Netherlands alone, 16 million meals have already been saved from the bin and a new feature introduced to the app could help make that number grow, notes Too Good To Go.
Through this program, Too Good To Go is now letting people across the Netherlands order a box of products from Knorr and other local brands, including Unox, Calvé and Conimex, to be delivered directly to their homes.
Giving consumers more direct access to products close to their sell-by date will increase the amount of good food saved, says Unilever.
This combined with easier access for those who cannot pick up at designated times or who live outside participating cities, will hopefully increase the amount of good food saved.
The product boxes currently only contain Unilever products, but together Unilever and Too Good To Go are calling on other food companies to join their effort.
The company says that it aims to halve food waste across all its operations from factory to shelf by 2025.
“But we can’t do it alone, which is why we’re working with partners across the food chain, including Too Good To Go, to change the system and help end food waste,” concluded van der Zee-Denekamp.
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