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Controlling QSR food waste: The power of five
The old adage, "Waste not, want not" has never been more fitting than for today's QSRs in their approach to food and food waste. After all, brands that get on board with this very worthy cause of food waste reduction now, stand to want very little in the future when it comes to committed customers and bottom line food cost savings.
November 19, 2019
By Matthew Hollis/ Elytus co-founder and president
Food waste is an ongoing battle for businesses and consumers alike. According to Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Date (ReFED), consumer-facing businesses waste $52 billion a year on food that is never eaten. With the consequences of food waste growing by the day, many businesses have started taking action.
Recently, for instance, a number of major retailers signed on to a food waste reduction initiative called 10x20x30 since it challenges 10 retailers to engage 20 of their suppliers to cut food waste in half by 2030. This coalition includes global retailers, Walmart, Kroger, Ikea and other companies and the initiative presents a huge opportunity to change business as usual for consumers, the company and the environment at large.
These kinds of positive changes on the food waste landscape also can create huge savings toward both corporations' and restaurant companies' bottom lines. This is particularly true when you consider that — as a recent study found — consumers are more interested in high-quality, organic products than those that offer just rock-bottom prices.
In still another Unilever study, 72% of U.S. diners indicated they are concerned about how food waste is handled, while another 47% said they were concerned enough that they would be willing to spend more money to eat at restaurants that actively try to cut the production of food waste. Simply put, it's a priority for the consumer, so shouldn't it also be a priority for restaurant operators?
If you agree that the answer to that question is an unequivocal, "yes," then you'll be looking more closely at ways to address the problem head-on. These five following suggestions will get you and your brand well on the way to less waste, more money and a better planet through food waste reduction.
Conduct a waste audit
It's tough to cut waste before you know how much your restaurant or restaurants produce in the first place. Take some time to measure how much waste is generated over the course of a week. There are several online resources to help you conduct a waste audit, but be prepared to get your hands dirty to understand your brand's waste stream.
Once you have a baseline measurement for the amount of food waste your brand produces, you can begin to tackle the problem at the source. With this information, you can forecast future volumes and find opportunities to reclaim the value in your waste.
Know your inventory
Leaner inventory management is one of the most effective ways you can reduce and prevent food waste. If you find your brand routinely throws away expired food, for instance, consider re-evaluating ordering practices.
Consider, for instance, spacing out orders for shorter shelf-life items and get some information on technologies that help forecast volumes, strengthening the supply and demand relationship.
Educate employees
Your brand's kitchen staff make decisions every day that directly impact your profit margin and bottom line. This is where improperly trained employees can really cost you in money, time and resources when they toss out perfectly good food or improperly store ingredients.
Similarly, if restaurant staff fails to fully understand or use caution when prepping food and taking orders, food waste is almost assured to result. Educate your employees to ensure the waste reduction practices you do develop are followed.
Donate to organizations that help food-insecure
The organization, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, estimates that approximately one in seven Americans is food-insecure, with 49 million individuals not sure when their next meal will come.
Restaurants can donate food that is edible, but not sale-able to organizations that tackle food insecurity. There are several resources and mobile apps that help companies divert food waste to charity, including Food Cowboy, Goodr, and many more.
Track and tweak, as needed
Data is your best friend when working to conquer food waste because you'll only be able to determine your success if you track the results. Each week, measure the amount of waste your brand generates as well as breaking it down into different types of food waste. This will make clear if you're making progress and will also tell if any given part of your efforts needs tweaking to improve results.
Putting these five tips into practice will set your restaurant up for success in better managing your overall food waste. With that under control, you can begin to market your efforts to your customers and enjoy the benefits of a positive brand image and potential cost savings to your bottom line.
Matthew S. Hollis is the co-founder and president of Elytus, a third-party administrator that helps clients streamline waste and recycling operations while becoming more sustainable in the process. As a part of its #WasteNothing motto, Elytus believes in saving time, money, and the environment.
