During the summer of 2018, KITRO measured and monitored the food that was thrown away in three Coop restaurant’s in Basel. Everyone has waste but not everyone takes action to address it, so we were very excited when one of the biggest players in the food and beverage industry in Switzerland signed to measure. This also reconfirmed their motto “Taten statt Worte,” translated to “Actions, not words.”
It all started in the first days of the Kickstart Accelerator, where we met the team, got to know the program and were introduced to the partners. Being part of Kickstart was for many reasons an exciting opportunity for KITRO. The program caters to multiple industries through its specific verticals, both for startups and partners. We had (of course!) done our research prior to the acceleration, knew who we wanted to target, and as a FoodTech startup, Coop was on our radar.
Advantageous to us, Coop also has a motivation to be part of Kickstart – getting first access to promising startups in order to pilot (try out) products that could add value to their current services and strategies.
The collaboration began in in the summer of 2018 where we started measuring their food waste. Within 3 months a reduction of avoidable food waste by up to 37% was achieved, and we were able to show here the growing potential of solutions tackling food waste with one of Switzerland’s main food distributors. Martin Wasserfallen and Project Manager of Gastronomy, Marcel Schildt, made the pilot as smooth as possible, and we appreciate their continuous support as we explore opportunities to continue working together in the future, on a larger scale.
“The pilot phase with KITRO showed considerable potential in terms of food waste reduction, which we will now pursue further. The open and fresh collaboration worked smoothly and the whole KITRO team showed a great commitment to Coop Gastronomy.” stated Martin Wasserfallen, Head of Services and Product Management.
KITRO is excited to work with such leaders in the industry that are actively pushing to make sustainable changes. Measuring food waste is not the first sustainability initiative Coop has applied as their efforts reach beyond the tackling of food waste. Let’s take a quick look at three pillars that underline Coop’s sustainability strategy:
Pillar 1: Sustainable products
Coop offers over 15,000 sustainable products in their stores! This means they drive their customers to shop in a responsible manner, respecting people, animals and nature across their product range.
Pillar 2: Environmental and climate protection
Investment in cost-effective solutions makes sense. Coop has saved millions of francs through alternative sources of energy, which has benefitted customers with lower prices, and positively impacted the environment.
Pillar 3: Employees and social commitment
From training and development, to career prospects and strong partnerships, Coop shows a special commitment to society and its own employees. Including this pillar in their strategy, Coop not only considers environmental sustainability, but also on sustaining a society that will bring value for years to come.
If you’d like to know more about Coop’s sustainability measures, check out their “Actions, not words” page and if you want to find out more about reducing food waste and costs with KITRO check us out here.
Subscribe to our newsletter for quarterly updates
and tips on reducing food waste:
