Frozen Food Reduces Wastage
In light of a recent report by Britain's Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on food wastage, frozen food manufacturer, Birds Eye, is focusing its promotional activities on the ways in which using frozen food can reduce that quantity.
Emphasizing the fact that it can be stored and used when needed, Birds Eye will highlight the amount of money that consumers waste each year throwing away fresh food. The campaign will reach 40 percent of UK mothers -- the key food purchasers in UK households -- to communicate the message, according to Talking Retail.
Anne Murphy, Birds Eye General Manager UK, told the magazine, "In the current economic climate, consumers are looking for ways to cut costs, reduce their outgoings and enjoy fresh food without the waste.
"The study by WRAP highlights the huge amount of food that is thrown away that has been bought and never used. The recent uplift in sales for frozen suggests the message is getting through that freezing food locks in taste and nutrients, meaning that frozen tastes just as good as fresh. Consumers are turning back to the category in a bid to enjoy fresh food without the waste."
WRAP is a private company set up to "help individuals, businesses and local authorities reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change." The report, titled "The Food We Waste," reveals that consumers in the UK throw away 6.7 million tons of food every year, roughly a third of everything bought. It claims that most of this could be avoided through a combination of better planning, storage and management. The organization maintains that less than a fifth (bones, cores and peelings, for example) is truly unavoidable.
WRAP estimates that £10.2 billion is spent in the UK every year buying and then throwing away good food. Another £1 billion is spent collecting food waste and sending most of it to landfill. In addition, the report points out the ways in which food waste harms the environment.
Birds Eye is taking up WRAP's challenge to see recognizing food waste as an opportunity to reduce waste, save money and minimize impact on the environment.
Discussion question: What do you think of reducing waste as a marketing message for frozen foods? Do you think consumers will respond to this message? Can this be seen as a threat to fresh foods?