How to reduce food waste with digital solutions

Food waste: the numbers

Transforming the food industry towards sustainability through digital solutions is the challenge tech companies are called to tackle today in the fight against food waste.

Currently, 40% of food is wasted globally — a figure with not only economic and social implications, but also a major environmental impact. Food waste is responsible for 8–10% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (WWF, 2021).

These numbers are sobering and are driving greater awareness among consumers. This is reflected in the steady rise of apps and digital platforms aimed at reducing waste — from Too Good To Go to Phenix, Myfoody and Regusto. In 2023 alone, Too Good To Go registered 21 million new users and added 72,000 active shops.

While these platforms focus on the final stage of consumption, the potential of digital technologies to combat food waste spans the entire supply chain — helping organisations improve their impact on the ecosystems around them.

Digital solutions to reduce food waste in fresh and ultra-fresh supply chains

Let’s consider a company that produces and distributes fresh or ultra-fresh products — the kind that reach supermarket shelves every day or are served in cafés, restaurants and hotels. Freshness is a fundamental requirement for these goods, which must be distributed on a large scale and sold within the same day to ensure maximum quality and safety for the end consumer.

This means that any unsold products at the end of the day must be discarded — a loss that has not only economic consequences for the business, but also social and environmental implications for the community and the planet.

This is where digital technologies can make a real difference. By providing near real-time sales data, they can support smarter business decisions and improve operational efficiency.

thanks to dynamic pricing models, targeted promotions can be activated throughout the day, adjusting prices to sales volumes in order to minimise food waste,
knowing in real time which products are available or running low enables agents to reorganise their routes, source goods from nearby warehouses, and optimise deliveries,
sales data can be analysed to more accurately forecast demand in the days that follow.

How digital solutions help reduce food waste: the benefits

Digital sales platforms not only help improve internal processes, but also create value for all stakeholders involved:

for businesses: maintaining healthy profit margins by reducing losses caused by unsold products
for the environment and the community: lowering environmental impact and contributing to a more sustainable economy through waste reduction
for consumers: accessing high-quality products at competitive prices

This is the path we have chosen at Aton, and one we have officially committed to in our Benefit Corporation charter: achieving win-win outcomes with our stakeholders by combining operational efficiency and cost reduction with sustainability — generating a positive impact on both society and the environment, as outlined in our impact assessment report.

Get in touch to discover which digital solutions can help you reduce food waste and build a more sustainable future!

Get in touch to start reducing food waste today