EG Group has stopped one million bags of surplus food from being thrown away in the UK, thanks to its partnership with Too Good To Go.
The forecourt giant said the milestone highlighted its ongoing commitments in reducing food waste, protecting the environment, and helping customers at a time when households budgets were squeezed.
It initially kicked off its partnership with Too Good To Go in 2018 in France, followed by tie-ups in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
The UK business joined the initiative in 2020 and has become EG Group’s largest market for Too Good To Go. It was first offered across a number of its petrol filling station convenience stores, then, due to strong demand, it rolled out the anti-food waste app to its foodservice partner brands, including Greggs, Starbucks, Cinnabon and Sbarro.
Since the partnership launch in September 2018, nearly 1,400 EG stores and concessions have started to use the Too Good To Go platform across the UK and Europe.
Customers have picked up over 260,000 bags of surplus goods across Europe from EG Group’s network, and a further one million in the UK. Together, that equates to more than 3,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions saved.
“This is a fantastic milestone in our partnership with Too Good To Go, helping to reduce both food waste and carbon emissions,” said EG Group head of ESG & sustainability Amina Batool.
“Our collective efforts have avoided carbon emissions equivalent to nearly 500 flights around the world,” she added. “Notably, we have seen a spike in the number of users in recent months, as more and more people monitor household spending closely, and hope that this partnership goes some way in supporting families who are looking for ways to combat the increasing cost of living.”
Too Good To Go works by allowing shoppers to purchase surplus food, or ‘magic bags’, from restaurants, convenience retailers and producers at a discounted rate. App users search for stores taking part in the scheme that have unsold produce. They then purchase a ‘magic bag’ of food at risk of going to waste and collect it at an allotted time.
It also guarantees the bags of surplus stock contain at least three times the value of food paid. So if a bag costs £4, it will contain at least £12 worth of food. EG Group said the partnership had proved particularly helpful for those struggling with the cost of living crisis.
Too Good To Go UK & Ireland MD Sophie Trueman said: “I’m thrilled to have reached this incredible milestone. EG Group’s commitment to fighting food waste has made them the perfect partner for us, and it’s amazing to see the significant impact we are driving together. Saving delicious food from going to waste not only carries huge benefits for our planet, it can also be a great help in making ends meet.
“I can’t wait to see our EG Group partnership continue to flourish and reduce even more good food from going to waste.”
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