Supermarket ‘happy hour’ reduces food waste

A Finnish supermarket chain is cutting food waste by dropping prices on items just before their expiration date

Spotted: Finnish S-market chain has instituted a “happy hour” for food. At 9 p.m., the stores slash food prices by up to 60 per cent for hundreds of items that are set to expire at midnight. The initiative is part of a campaign to reduce food waste. 

In addition to potentially reducing food waste, the initiative may also help bring in new customers and aid those on a tight budget in eating better by offering a greater variety of discounted foods. According to S-market vice president Mika Lyytikainen, the program helps S-market to sell food that would otherwise need to be given away.

“When we sell at 60 per cent off, we don’t earn any money, but we earn more than if the food was given to charity,” he said.

In addition to S-market, a number of other organisations are also trying innovative ways to reduce food waste. Springwise has recently covered a new process that can keep milk fresh for up to 40 days and the use of spoilage sensors to alert stores to food that is about to go off.