SPAR UK operator A.F. Blakemore has signed up all 275 of its SPAR convenience stores across England and Wales to the Too Good To Go app. The convenience retailer first partnered with the food-waste-fighting platform in January 2020, when it began a trial with 15 stores. In June 2020, the business registered a further 43 stores on the platform, and on 22 February it completed its rollout.

The news is yet another food waste reduction milestone in the SPAR network. In December 2020, SPAR International and social impact company Too Good To Go announced a global partnership to tackle food waste, which covers a total of 13 overlapping markets.

Earlier this month, SPAR became the first major food retailer in Austria to launch a partnership with Too Good To Go.

UK launch
The Too Good To Go app launched in the UK in 2016 to help tackle the 10 million tonnes of food wasted each year by saving fresh and short-dated meals and products thrown away by restaurants and retailers.

Towards the end of each day, SPAR stores make up ‘Magic Bags’ of surplus fresh food, which Too Good To Go’s app users can then purchase for a great price.

Blakemore Retail Managing Director Matt Teague commented: “We’re delighted to be expanding our partnership with Too Good To Go. At Blakemore Retail we’re dedicated to reducing our food waste, and this app is a great way to help us on our mission to achieve this.

“The app enables customers to get some fantastic deals at the same time as encouraging them to try new products that they might not usually buy as part of their regular shop. The bags have proved very popular with shoppers, and since registering our first stores on the app we have saved an incredible 17,400 bags of food from going to waste”, he said.

Food waste focus
“This practice of reducing food waste has now become the normal way of working across our retail estate. We’re also seeing retailers from A.F. Blakemore’s independent SPAR estate increasingly eager to sign up to the app too.”

In the UK, each ‘Magic Bag’ contains food worth a minimum of £10 at full retail price, but is sold to customers for £3.09. The bags can include groceries, fruit, vegetables, baked goods, sandwiches, cakes, meats, pizzas, ready meals, and sweet treats.

After placing an order for a ‘Magic Bag’ and paying for it on the app, customers collect their bag of goodies at the allocated time from their chosen SPAR store.

Paschalis Loucaides, Managing Director UK at Too Good To Go, commented: “If we’re going to make a dent in the vast quantities of food wasted every day we need to work with partners who are as dedicated to the cause as we are.”

“Now, consumers can help rescue food from their local A.F. Blakemore SPAR, bringing communities and businesses together in the fight against food waste. I’m excited to see what we can achieve together.”

Source: SPAR UK

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About SPAR UK

The UK became a member of SPAR in 1956 when SPAR International granted the SPAR licence to a group of independent wholesalers. There are five regional partners in the UK. A central office in London provides national marketing and buying services for the group.

SPAR has led the highly competitive convenience market in the UK for many years. Always innovative, the five regional partners have continued to grow the brand. SPAR UK comprises independently-owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores. These include forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhood stores.