Dive Brief:
- Denmark's first food waste supermarket, WeFood, has launched in Copenhagen, selling foods at 30% to 50% discounts that are at, or very near, their expiration dates; have damaged packaging; or are otherwise considered unsellable by their distributors and manufactures who donate them. The "social" supermarket is intended for consumers of all income levels.
- On its first day open, sales were higher than expected with almost all of the stock selling, according to the Independent. The store's plans moving forward are to attract more suppliers to ensure an ample, continuous inventory.
- WeFood’s ultimate goal is to steadily cut Denmark’s 700,000 tons of food wasted annually – a figure representing a 25% decrease in the past five years.
Dive Insight:
Retail food outlets are notorious for wasting volumes of food when they choose to offer consumers only the freshest and most attractive products. Denmark has shown that there are plenty of consumers, and at many income levels, who are more than happy to buy products that are not perfect looking or are not freshly stocked.
Per Bjerre, of Folkekirkens Nødhjælp, the NGO behind the project said, "WeFood is the first supermarket of its kind in Denmark and perhaps the world, as it is not just aimed at low-income shoppers but anyone who is concerned about the amount of food waste produced in this country. Many people see this as a positive and politically correct way to approach the issue."
In the U.S. there have been a few attempts to get retailers in on the food waste reduction movement, such as @UglyFruitAndVeg campaign. And last year, one nutritionist and food waste specialist with ambitious goals called on Wal-Mart and Whole Foods to pledge to sell imperfect produce, though their concept has not quite gained momentum among the two giants in the food industry.
