Food Waste Has Got To Go
In-depth insight into food waste in the UK Food-To-Go sector
Already a member? LOG IN
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE
For the last few years, the food-to-go sector has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK’s food industry. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, the sector was continually outperforming the wider eating out market, as consumers sought convenience and variety for food when out and about. It’s also a sector battling food waste: abundantly stocked cabinets create an attractive look that appeals to on-the-go customers, but this aesthetic often results in high levels of end-of-shift surplus.
Predictions made by MCA and HIM in February 2020 indicated that the market was set to grow by 2.7% in 2020 to reach a value of £21.7bn. For comparison, the top 10 brands in the food-to-go sector grew their sales by 5.6% in 2019; grocery operators saw their sales rise by just 0.7%.
The potential growth for the sector undoubtedly led to even more food-to-go businesses launching, increasing competition to attract customers and positively impacting sales revenue.
Now, an even greater threat to the sector has appeared. The outbreak of Covid-19 has rocked the entire hospitality retail landscape. Consumer habits have been forced to change, and it’s hard to judge how consumers will react as life continues to return to ‘normal’. All this puts extra pressure on businesses and directly impacts food waste levels.
This report delves deeper into the food-to-go sector and its key stakeholders. The research investigates how consumers shop when it comes to food on the go, and how this behaviour impacts food waste. It also delves deeper into the minds of food-to-go employees to understand how food waste is impacting their businesses in the current climate.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE
SOME OF OUR PARTNERS
WHAT TO KNOW
- The Too Good To Go app lets you reduce your food waste and earn back money on stock that would have been thrown away - a win-win. Further still, 76% of customers who discover a store through Too Good To Go will return as full-paying customers.
- Almost no more than it takes to throw food away! All that is required of you is to set aside your surplus food to be picked up by a customer. Then, at the collection time, the customer shows their digital receipt and you hand over the food.
- Signing up to Too Good To Go is free, and you won't pay anything unless you sell food through the app. Once you start selling food, we'll deduct an annual fee and a small commission on each Surprise Bag sold. This commission fee varies depending on what you charge for your Surprise Bags. Reach out to our team, and we'll walk you through it.
- We'll send you the money you've earned from Too Good To Go on a quarterly basis. All you have to do is give us your bank account details - you can do this using MyStore on the app or on desktop.
- While we encourage customers to bring their own containers or bags, often they'll need to use a takeaway bag you provide. If you already have packaging that works for this purpose, you're welcome to use it.
THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERY BUSINESS
From grocers to pizzerias, supermarkets to sushi restaurants - we'll make sure your food gets eaten, not wasted.
WASTE LESS, EARN MORE
The results completely superseded our expectations and we were blown away by how easy it was to transition this partnership into our business.
RECOVER SUNK COSTS
We hope other supermarkets will follow our lead to reduce food waste.
REACH NEW CUSTOMERS
Too Good To Go is a key piece in the puzzle of cutting waste, helping us reduce surplus food across our hotels and engage local communities at the same time. We’re already seeing an impact and view Too Good To Go as a great partnership.
