Tesco is set to begin a trial where customers will be given expiring food for free at the end of the day as the British supermarket chain attempts to cut food wastage. The company will be giving away its already discounted “yellow sticker” items after 9:30 pm local time at some of its smaller Express stores in the coming months, according to a report in BBC.
Tesco is Britain’s largest supermarket chain, with a 27.8 per cent market share, having 3,700 domestic stores and 750 more abroad. The supermarket giant, alongside other chains, has pledged to halve food waste by 2030.
“This trial will allow customers to take any remaining yellow-stickered items for free at the end of the day, after they have first been offered to charities and colleagues,” a company spokesperson said.
Tesco already donates expiring food to charities and foodbanks. It added that the charities and shop workers will get the first priority over expiring food before it is offered to the customers. Previously food items bearing a yellow sticker had a maximum of 90 percent price reduction.
“We are constantly looking for innovative new ways to reduce food waste. In all our stores we offer unsold surplus food to charities and community groups, donating millions of meals each month.”
In 2023/24, the supermarket achieved a 61 percent reduction of absolute emissions from its operations compared to 2015, which exceeded its 2025 target of 60 percent.
“We’ve done this by using energy and refrigeration more efficiently, and by adopting 100 percent renewable electricity across the Group.”
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Cost-of-living crisis
Amid the cost-of-living crisis, a boom in demand for discounted food across supermarkets has been observed in Britain with sales of yellow sticker items soaring. An analysis by Barclays revealed that almost two-thirds of households were buying discounted products in 2023.
Additionally, more people have been heading towards the food banks for survival. Over 1.4 million new users have visited the food banks in the last two years, according to the Trussell Trust food bank.