Technology can help accelerate the fight against food waste
Consumer consciousness around food waste has more than doubled in the past two years as rising food prices, supply chain challenges, the pandemic, and sustainability concerns are impacting consumer behaviour.
Today, seventy-two percent of consumers are aware of their food wastage as compared to only 33% of consumers before 2020. This is according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report, “Reflect. Rethink. Reconsider. Why food waste is everybody’s problem” which surveyed 10,000 consumers and executives from 1,000 large organizations in food manufacturing and retail.
According to the new report, consumers are already looking into ways to reduce their food waste. There has been an 80% year-on-year growth in social media searches for methods to increase the life of food items. Cost savings (56%), concerns around world hunger (52%) and climate change (51%) are the primary reasons contributing to this.
The report recommends a three-pronged approach to tackle food waste, backed by technology:
- Engage consumers and employees in food waste management initiatives
- Collaborate across the value chain:
- Set, monitor, and report food waste-related metrics