The Flashfood app connects shoppers to discounts on good food at grocery stores that is nearing its expiry date – helping reduce waste
Flashfood
Flashfood’s mission is to eliminate retail food waste by offering retailers and shoppers a simple and affordable way to feed families, not landfills. The app-based marketplace connects consumers to great discounts on high-quality groceries including fresh produce, meat, dairy and bakery items.
How does it work? Grocers do daily date checks, identify items for Flashfood, upload them to the app, and place the items in the Flashfood Zone. Shoppers browse and purchase the items through the app and pick up their orders in-store. Today, Flashfood operates in nearly 2,000 grocery stores throughout Canada and the United States. In 2022, Flashfood and Loblaw – its biggest partner in Canada – celebrated a milestone of 40 million pounds of food diverted, including more than seven million pounds of produce.
Eliminating food waste at the retail level by diverting it to dinner tables not only reduces harmful emissions at landfills, but it also addresses the connected problems of hunger and food insecurity. Flashfood also helps retailers recover lost profits and achieve their sustainability goals.
“Flashfood wouldn’t be here without our retail partners who hustle behind the scenes to make our platform and our mission possible,” says founder and CEO Josh Domingues. “Looking ahead, we’ve got our sights set on accessibility – being available in more places and at more stores with the goal of saving consumers money on groceries and rescuing millions more pounds of food from landfill.”
Freybe Gourmet Foods
Freybe Gourmet Foods achieved significant sustainability milestones in 2022 as part of its action plan to reduce emissions, electricity, packaging and food waste. Last year, Freybe successfully diverted 60% of its food waste from landfills by partnering with West Coast Reduction to convert the waste into animal feed and renewable energy.
Freybe also cut its water usage by 22.8K cubic metres, the equivalent of 640,000 showers, by upgrading its facilities with low-flow toilets and tap aerators as well as through changes to its salami production process. The company’s LED lighting improvements have saved 1.03 million KWH in electricity usage, while its eco-friendly packaging initiatives brought about an annual reduction of 96 kilograms in paper, 96 kilograms in plastic, and 2,260 kilograms in corrugate. Moreover, Freybe was recently approved for a FortisBC pilot project, which will significantly decrease its boiler emissions and repurpose captured carbon for soap and cleaning supplies.
This year, Freybe also plans to upgrade its wastewater treatment system and work with a smart recycle waste broker to further develop its waste diversion and management initiatives.
Greenhouse Juice Co.
Organic beverage company Greenhouse Juice Co.’s Fight Against Plastic and Microplastic Pollution initiative is driven by its commitment to the health of both its customers and the environment, according to co-founder and CEO Anthony Green.
“When I learned that the top two contributors to plastic pollution were beverage giants, it became clear to us that Greenhouse needed to take accountability and be a part of the solution,” says Green.
To combat this crisis, the company is taking innovative steps towards plastic-free packaging, including switching to recyclable aluminum caps and using post-consumer paper waste for its product labels. Greenhouse predicts these updates will prevent more than 100,000 kilograms of plastic waste from entering the environment within the next 12 months.
Additionally, Greenhouse is educating consumers through an online microsite linked via QR code to its new cap, which shares information about plastic pollution and the company’s goal of achieving a completely plastic-free supply chain. Greenhouse wants to inspire larger beverage businesses by setting aggressive sustainability goals and transparently communicating its progress and challenges. Greenhouse’s ultimate vision is to reduce its current plastic usage by more than 95% by the end of 2025 and implement a comprehensive closed-loop reuse program for its bottles.
Group Bel Canada
Since plant-based products are part of the solution to growing environmental challenges, Group Bel Canada has set a goal to offer a balanced range of fruit-and-plant-based and dairy products by 2030. It’s well on its way. In the past three years, the company has diversified its plant-based product offerings and has implemented measures to reduce its environmental impact.
With the construction of its new plant in Sorel-Tracy, Que., the company is prioritizing local production and avoiding shipping from Europe. About 90% of Group Bel Canada’s products are now produced in Canada. The plant is thermally insulated to be energy efficient, with air systems designed to allow for energy recovery, and its sustainable design is reducing its carbon footprint.
In collaboration with The Climate Fresk NGO, the company has established a training program to raise awareness of climate change. More than 80 employees have been trained.
“At Group Bel Canada, I feel that every day we get to live our mission to provide healthy and responsible snacks for all,” says Cristine Laforest, CEO of Group Bel Canada. “We have an opportunity to influence positive innovation, consumers’ eating habits and help take care of the planet at the same time. We have a responsibility as manufacturers to do our part to provide more sustainable solutions in this fast-changing world.”