Lidl trials ‘Too Good To Waste’ fruit and veg boxes
Lidl UK is piloting a new range of fruit and vegetable boxes that contain items that are no longer at their “perfect best” but are still good to eat.
Designed to tackle fruit and veg waste in-store, the trial of the ‘Too Good to Waste’ boxes is taking place in 122 Lidl shops across the country.
If rolled out nationwide, Lidl said the boxes will help save 10,000 tonnes of surplus produce a year.
The boxes will contain around 5kg of mixed fruit and veg and will be priced at £1.50.
In 2017 Lidl set itself a target of reducing food waste by 25% over three years and has now committed itself to the SDG 12.3 target of 50% by 2030.
Christian Härtnagel, chief executive of Lidl UK, said: “We’re proud that in just one year, our stores have managed to cut food waste by 13%, however we recognise that there’s still a long way to go, to get where we need to be. We’re fortunate that our business model gives us the flexibility and agility to be creative and trial new approaches that can have a real, positive impact.
“Proportionately, we sell the most fruit and veg in the sector, but we know from our data that fresh produce is one of the biggest contributors to food waste in stores, so we’re excited by the difference our ‘Too Good to Waste’ initiative will make. Not only will it help customers consider items that they might have previously dismissed, it will also provide an opportunity for them to make further savings.”
As part of the new initiative, the supermarket will also introduce additional price reductions on its fresh items that do contain best before and use by dates – on top of the 30% reduction already placed on items in the lead-up to best before and use by dates.
