One Stop, the national convenience retailer with 1,000 company and franchise stores across the UK, will be expanding its partnership with Whywaste, a Swedish food tech company tackling food waste through technology.
Whywaste promises to reduce food waste and increase profitability through a combination of digital tools which essentially bring more information to the retailer, ensuring that food can be sold before its expiry date.
For example, its Smart Markdown tool calculates the optimum discounted price to reach the market clearing point via artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, its Advanced Date Checking tool notifies the retailer about upcoming product expiry dates through the Whywaste app.
Ben Holden, Head of Business Development at Whywaste said: "It is always wonderful to see that retailers are embracing the idea that sustainability is an important part of their business. In announcing this partnership with One Stop we are delighted that they have shown their continued commitment to reducing food waste and giving their customers the best offers, together with Whywaste."
The partnership initially kicked off in 2022, when One Stop piloted Whywaste in 4 of its stores. After a successful run — with a nearly 15% reduction in waste in ambient and fresh products — One Stop will be rolling out the SaaS tech across its 1,000 stores. The partnership follows a series of eco-friendly tweaks that One Stop has made since its 2022 pledge to become carbon neutral.
The One Stop Head of Supply Chains, Richard Turton, commented: "We’re thrilled to be working with Whywaste – we’re committed to reducing food waste and our environmental impact as much as we can, where we can. The Whywaste software will enable us to discount products which are close to their sell by date at fair prices, giving our customers another great way to save money when they visit our stores."
Tackling the problem of food waste is at the forefront of many businesses: it represents the interlinking issues of environmental impact, profitability, efficiency and pricing strategies. For instance, Spar recently adopted technology to forecast stock levels to cut down on food waste and increase sales, while many retailers opt in to TooGoodToGo’s redistributive technology to sell stock that would otherwise be thrown away.