The Co-operative Group has denied it is experiencing high wastage on its new bread range, despite store staff claiming they are being inundated with too much.
The society launched the five-strong own-label bread range two weeks ago as part of its £100m ‘Fair & Square’ price commitment.
Loaves are priced at 75p, and are featured in the society’s new TV ad campaign.
However, some staff have complained they are receiving double their usual orders and have had to let many loaves go to waste.
“One word, bread! Will someone be getting their P45 after their nice long weekend after this cock-up?” one staff member posted on the society’s employee Facebook page.
Another said: “Usually sell 300 to 400 loaves over Saturday/Sunday. They send in 600 not including what I already had from Thursday/Friday. Where’s the extra 200 customers to come from? The first week of our own bread launch I sold out by 3pm, now I have mountains.”
However, another claimed his store was not receiving enough. “In total five loaves delivered this morning, didn’t even fill the shelf and gone within 30 minutes,” he said.
A spokeswoman for The Co-op Group insisted volumes and waste were “in line with expectations”.
“We are pleased with our new Co-op bread range, which forms part of our new Fair & Square price initiative,” she said.
“Customer feedback has been very encouraging. There are no significant changes to the overall waste profile.”
