Too Good To Go, the social impact company behind the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, has joined forces with Hanshow, a leader in Internet of Things (IoT) and digital store solutions, to combat food waste on a global scale. This partnership aims to integrate Too Good To Go’s comprehensive surplus food management system with Hanshow’s advanced electronic shelf label (ESL) technology, providing food retailers with an efficient solution for tracking and redistributing surplus products.
The collaboration has already seen success in six test stores across France, where Hanshow’s ESLs—equipped with LED-flashing pick-to-light functionality—are being utilised alongside the Too Good To Go platform. This integration allows retailers to streamline the product expiry date check process, thereby unlocking value from excess inventory.
A significant issue facing grocery retailers is the challenge of food waste, which the European Grocery Retailing Institute estimates costs nearly 2% of net sales, almost equalling average profit margins. The Too Good To Go platform addresses this issue by generating a shortlist of near-expiry products directly on store employees’ handheld PDAs. This innovative approach means that instead of checking 100% of items on the shelves, employees now only need to inspect 1-5% of products each day, resulting in savings of up to one hour per employee daily and minimising the number of expired products on shelves.
In practice, when employees use the Too Good To Go application to perform date checks, the ESLs flash within two to three seconds, facilitating quicker identification and location of the right products. This time-saving functionality not only enhances operational efficiency but also improves customer experience by reducing the likelihood of expired products remaining on display.
The initial findings from the pilot programme indicate a significant reduction in the time employees spend locating products. Retailers using the integrated system can expect to decrease the time spent on this task by at least 20%, potentially saving over 39 hours of work per store each year. One participating location even reported a remarkable 56% decrease in the time spent locating items compared to similar stores that did not implement the new system.
Mateo Rando, Chief Product Officer at Too Good To Go, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “By combining Too Good To Go Platform with Hanshow’s advanced technology, we are enabling grocery retailers to simplify surplus food management, helping them save both time and resources while making a real impact in the fight against food waste.”
Liangyan Li, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales at Hanshow, emphasised the company’s commitment to sustainability through this partnership. “Our collaboration with Too Good To Go showcases Hanshow’s dedication to driving sustainability and operational efficiency in the retail industry. By integrating our advanced ESL technology with Too Good To Go Platform, we exemplify our vision to leverage digital solutions for meaningful value creation for both retailers and the environment,” Li stated.
The partnership between Too Good To Go and Hanshow signifies a crucial step towards addressing the growing issue of food waste in the grocery sector, presenting innovative technological solutions to help retailers operate more sustainably while enhancing their profitability.
