Meijer plans to expand its partnership with Flashfood to all 246 of its stores by the end of the year following a pilot program that cut in-store food waste by 10%.
The Flashfood app gives shoppers the opportunity to buy produce and other fresh food nearing its sell-by date at up to 50% off and pick up their purchases at the store. Meijer expects to start rolling out the program to more stores next month after piloting Flashfood with four Detroit metro locations.
“In just a few months, we diverted thousands of pounds of food from landfills,” Don Sanderson, group vice president of fresh for Meijer, said in a news release. “Minimizing in-store food waste is the right thing to do for our communities and our customers. We’re excited to expand upon these efforts and offer this opportunity to all our customers.”
Flashfood founder and CEO Josh Domingues described Meijer’s experience as an example of the value the technology can add for retailers.
“Going from a pilot to the decision to roll out chainwide in less than three months with Meijer is indicative of how significant our collective impact is for everyday Americans,” Domingues said. “I can’t wait for more Meijer customers to have access to the Flashfood app, save money on their groceries and collectively reduce food waste in an innovative, fun way.”
