Food waste initiatives have become increasingly popular amongst major food retailers and foodservice operators in recent years. With the backing of celebrities such as Jamie Oliver, leading retailers and manufacturers signed a commitment to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 in March 2016. him! explores the shopper attitudes around the topic.

1. At him! we not only analyse shoppers views, we also detect market
trends and predict what the impact will be on the retail industry.
FO
him!’s take on:
Food waste

2. It’s therefore becoming ever more important to keep up to
date with the cause and affect for shoppers and retailers
Recognise the attitudes, behaviours and influences
of shoppers which are driving their purchasing
decisions
sales data gives you the WHAT
him! research tells you the WHY
Protect & Grow. Shopper insight will help you
identify how to keep your core shopper and
attract new ones
Source: him!

3. Food wastage and reduction initiatives have made headlines
over the last year
Source: him!
British households food waste *
7m
tonnes
Only 8% of shoppers say they
are not concerned by food
waste. While…
are concerned to
A GREAT EXTENT!
*Wrap
Food waste or food loss is food that is discarded, lost or uneaten. It’s a trend which him! have identified
as increasing in prevalence and one which is pertinent to the convenience industry
1 in 3

4. Since October 2015, the law requires
shops to charge 5p for all single-use
plastic carrier bags
Will disposable coffee cups be
charged too?
Debate currently in progress…
Source: him! Online survey
The UK Government has taken action on environmental concerns
Defra funded, charity WRAP*, is lobbying retailers and manufacturers to cut
food waste 20% by 2025.
Is food waste going to be their next challenge?

5. Fare share
UK food redistribution charity
UK grocers are already taking action
Thousands of tonnes of food left over from stores are now donated to local charities
including food banks who transform it into meals for vulnerable people
teamed up 18
years ago
rolled out the
programme supplying a
range of chilled food
items in September 2015
FareShare
FoodCloud
Neighbourly
Social networking apps
linking stores to local charities
enable store managers to register
the surplus food they have on
offer and alert local charities.
Free to use for charities but charges a subscription fee
for business partners
Source: him!

6. Sainsbury’s banks on digital solutions to involve
consumers
Partnership with Olio and Google
Interactive online tool in partnership with Google,
which gives recipe inspiration.
Users can input up to nine ingredients and in return
they will be presented with recipe inspiration.
Food rescue app and Website
People take pictures of their
unwanted food and alert other
people to its availability.
Olio food sharing app
Source: him!

7. In store comms or events are also a good way to highlight
initiatives aimed at reducing food waste
Retailers give shoppers tips on how to keep their food and promote their initiatives
Southern Central at
Tesco millbrook
FTG Holborn Circus
store
PCP @ Tesco Waste Less Save More
project - Swadlincote
Source: him!
Encouraging people to donate to Neighbourhood
food collection. Figures about the meals given to
people in need advertised on trolleys
Tips on how to make food last longer #totherescue
Launch of a £1 million scheme to reduce food
waste in Swadlincote

8. Offer misshapen food at a discount!
Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Wholefoods are already making the most of it
Source: him!

9. c.3 in 5 shoppers would like their local store to help them
reduce food waste
But half of shoppers have not seen any effort from their store. Opportunity to stand out!
Have you noticed any effort from you usual store regarding
food waste?
Would you like your local store to help you reduce the
amount of lost uneaten food?
59%
22% 19%
Yes No Neither yes or
no
Source: him! Online survey
4%
9%
10%
31%
52%
Yes other initiatives
Yes recipe suggestions with leftover
Yes imperfect products section
Yes reduced price for products near
the expiration date
No, I have not seen anything
Shout about your effort to
make sure they are visible
Social media is a cost-effective
way to spread word of mouth

10. And abroad…
Italy to change law to
make all supermarkets
give unsold food to
needy
March 2016
Intermarche
Inglorious Fruit and Veg Campaign
France became the first country to
pass a law forbidding grocery stores
from destroying or throwing away
unsold food.
France Italy
Austria
Initiative in Spar
US
111,620 US shoppers signed a
petition aiming Walmart and
Wholefoods to sell ugly products.
Giant Eagle and Whole Foods
recently announced they’ll do so.
Germany
Opening of a flagship store with
no packaging and zero-waste
ethos in Berlin, only reusable
containers.
Source: him!

11. Thoughts from him!
92% of shoppers claim to be concerned by food waste
How to reduce food waste?
Show consumers your effort and engage them: This is what we do, this is what you should do
Incentivise shoppers
• Offer advice on how to reduce food waste and ultimately save money (potential saving for an average family
£700*)
• Tips on storage, labelling and recipes to make sure shoppers get the best out of their food
• Reduce the price of items near the expiration date, create a dedicated ‘hot deals corner’ in store
• Loyalty rewards for shoppers buying items on the actual expiration date (could drive meal for tonight mission)
• Offer misshapen food at a discount: wonky vegetables, biscuits etc
• Encourage purchase of soups/prepared meals at the deli or salad bar made with imperfect products
Making sure your efforts are visible
• In store comms encouraging shopping little and often rather than a main shop
• Chalkboard with community effort, speech from store manager communicating about this behaviour change
• Share pictures on social media: a cost-effective, quick and easy way of increasing word of mouth about your
initiatives
• Create a dedicated section on your website
• Team up with redistribution organisations across the UK to ensure your surplus food goes to the people who
need it most
Source: him! *Source: Wrap

12. The him! convenience research solution
DEPTH FREQUENCY
Our annual face-to-face survey of
20,000 shoppers is the most
comprehensive survey of shoppers
in high street, neighbourhood and
forecourt convenience stores
throughout the UK
Alongside our annual survey we conduct
1,000 interviews every month with shoppers
online to deliver the best barometer of UK
shoppers across all grocery channels to
understand where else they shop and to
identify the risk
Source: him!

13. DEPTH: The convenience tracking programme (CTP)
What?
How?
When?
20,000 Convenience store shopper
interviews
Face to face across 25+ convenience
fascia in the UK
Captured annually in stores between
February - April
Retailer sample TBC
Who?
Shoppers in store capturing all
missions and all demographics
Where? In large, small, high street, rural,
neighbourhood and transient
locations

14. FREQUENCY: The Omnichannel Barometer
What?
How?
When?
12,000 grocery shopper interviews
across convenience supermarkets,
discounters & online
Online data capture using one of
the UK’s largest panel providers
Captured every month delivering
on going tracking information
Retailer sample TBC
Who? Nationally representative samples of
UK adults (+18)
Why?
To understand where else shoppers are shopping and
what trends are driving this to help identify the risk and
opportunities across total grocery

15. It’s not just about the shoppers…
..we also speak to the retailers too
As part of our annual shopper survey, when we are in the stores we will interview store
owner, manager and staff too to get an insight into what it’s like to run and work in a
convenience store
If you understand shoppers AND RETAILERS this will help you unlock great
implementation and communication strategies
Source: him!

16. At him! we can support you in various ways
through using our insight and expertise to help you delivery your channel strategy and grow your
key customers. Our team is your team, so contact us now for more information on how we can
help yours
Internal
workshops
Retailer
workshops
Insight for
field sales
Input into
trade press
Input into
trade shows
Key customer
meetings
Internal team
meetings
Range
reviews
00845 072 766
www.him.uk.com
@thoughtsfromhim