According to research by
Food Navigator
, food waste represents not only from an environmental point of view, but also from an ethical and economic point of view, a plague equal to carbon emissions. The theme, which was on the agenda at Cop26 in Glasgow, when evaluated in terms of opportunities for brands, reveals great potential: to emerge in a saturated and homologated market, taking a strong position and transforming it into one's purpose.
In principle,
no one wants to waste food, especially in the family where the value of food is taught and guilt is passed on for every fruit, vegetable or piece of bread thrown away
. Yet it is within the home that the worst figures are recorded. According to the UNEP
Food Waste Index 2021
, 931 million tons of food were wasted in 2019 - 61% of which in the family (followed by the food service sector 26% and retail 13%).
Eliminating food waste at home
is the concatenated result of a series of behaviors that should be adopted systematically - from meal planning, to shopping, to food storage and consumption. This is demonstrated by the significant drop in finished food in the dustbin during the lockdown, when we were able to better manage the food supplies. In 2020 in Italy we threw 27 kilograms of food each, about 529 grams per week, 11.78% less than in 2019 (Waste Watcher International Observatory on Food and Sustainability, February 2021).
And the role of brands? From its observatory on trends that influence and change consumption globally,
FutureBrand
has identified the strategies of brands to combat food waste. According to the analysis of the strategist Elena Vardanega: "Adopting a brand story that goes against the tide, eco-conscious and proactive with respect to food waste is a differentiation lever and a way to engage young people, who are more sensitive and informed about issues related to the environment and more skeptical of false promises and marketing strategies ".
Numerous virtuous examples identified by FutureBrand's analysis.
In Canada, Unilever's Hellmann mayonnaise brand pioneered Use-Up Day
involving a thousand families: the participants were invited to combine the leftovers of cereals, proteins and vegetables with various types of spices to create new recipes. Thanks to this initiative, families have reduced food waste by an average of 33% in five weeks (according to data from Food Navigator). Another example is represented by the
Israeli Wasteless
, among the seven startups finalists at the first edition of FoodTech Accelerator 2019. Wasteless
produces electronic labels which, thanks to an algorithm based on scalable artificial intelligence, automatically reduce prices
, applying discounts as they go. items are approaching their expiration date. This
in-store project
it allows to reduce food waste directly at the point of sale as well as allowing consumers to buy products at more advantageous prices and retailers to optimize revenue.
Another interesting fact, which emerges from a recent research by
KPGM
, concerns
the interest in sustainable products
that during the pandemic increased for 37% of consumers globally. "Many brands - highlights Vardanega - are devoting themselves to
transforming potential waste into new raw materials
for upcycled products, products made with ingredients not intended for human consumption, procured and processed using traceable supply chains, which have a positive impact on 'environment".
The American multinational
Mondelez,
with products from Philadelphia to the Ritz in its catalog,
has collaborated with the Upcycled Food Association
to define the guidelines for the startups that make up its
SnacksFutures
, the innovation hub in which new products are developed. These include: CaPao Fruit Bites,
snacks made with cocoa fruit scraps
, and Dirt Kitchen Snacks, which offers
veggie crisps based on dried tomatoes, courgettes and carrots.
In addition to Mondelez, there are many
other brands that convert possible organic waste into ingredients for drinks, protein bars and more.
The trick is to use recycled ingredients for ultra-palatable recipes and products as Unilever did in its
Cremissimo
ice cream line
in Germany,
proposing a
new chocolate flavor made with otherwise unused ice cream (40%)
. Since its launch in 2020, Cremissimo has sold 1.2 million tubs - allowing for a total saving of 160 tons of ice cream (Unilever, 2021).
Babaco Market
, the start-up that collects seasonal fruit and vegetables discarded for small defects or because they do not comply with the standards of the distribution channels,
has thought
about
breaking the aesthetic canons
. The products are delivered directly to your home every one or two weeks in a box with recipes and anti-waste advice.
“Food waste - concludes Vardanega - must be countered on several fronts: brands, institutions and consumers must all do their part
.
Brands must radically transform the concept of waste: from a waste element to a resource to be used for the creation of upcycled and accessible products.
Being a spokesperson for these issues helps the cause by also increasing the value of the brand.
We consumers, on the other hand, must adopt a more conscious and pragmatic approach, abandoning the bad habit of simply throwing away food, considered waste, introducing in everyday life new ways to reuse leftovers, leftovers that become raw materials for new recipes and preparations.
A return to the past, when food was precious. "