British retailer Iceland Foods has launched a nationwide initiative to reduce food waste. For this, the frozen food specialist is working with food-sharing platform Olio and technology start-up Gander. Consumers receive real-time notifications via apps from both partners when products nearing their expiry date are discounted at their local Iceland store.
The move is part of Iceland’s sustainability strategy. It aims to reduce food waste and to help consumers save money. The company had tested the system in selected stores in London and Bristol in October last year. It will roll out the programme to all its more than 950 locations in the UK over the next few weeks.
“We’re really excited about the potential of this national initiative, in partnership with Iceland and Gander”, told Olio COO and co-founder Saasha Celestial-One The Retail Optimiser and explained: „It’s a brand-new way for Iceland to generate more revenue from discounted items, and to reduce waste. It’s also giving shoppers locally access to excellent value groceries and helping them save money on their food shopping. We’re hoping that lots more retailers will follow Iceland’s lead in adopting this all-in-one approach to discounting and food redistribution.”
From neighbourhood initiative to international presence
Iceland has been working with Olio since 2022 using its Food Waste Hero programme. Here, volunteers collect surplus food from the store shortly before closing time and make it available for collection via the Olio app. In return, the volunteers can keep 10 per cent of the goods for their own use.
Olio began as a neighbourhood initiative where households could offer surplus food from their refrigerators, initially via WhatsApp and later via the Olio app. Now, Olio reaches around five million users in the UK. The social tech start-up is also active in several Scandinavian countries, Latin America and Asia.
Direct channel to consumers
While Olio is the channel through which shoppers can see live discounts from Iceland, Gander provides the markdown tools that connects Iceland’s inventory to Olio. This enables Iceland to address the Olio community directly and reach additional consumer groups.
Any product markdowns shortly before best-before date can be spread by the Gander platform in real time via various channels. These, in addition to Gander’s own app and Olio, can include Google or the Meta Group’s platforms.
Different ways to integrate
Gander enables the connection via various technologies. The company provides programming interfaces (APIs) and has already implemented direct integration for selected POS Software systems. It also offers a markdown app called `Bruce in the Box´, which supports retailers in pricing. Gander uses an AI-based engagement engine to tailor messages to specific target groups. The connected retail company can view evaluations and analyses of its campaigns in real time via a central online hub.
