Event overview
In our report on the true cost of food waste, we identified that one of the least cost ways to reduce surplus food was to simply apply a discount, that “marks down” the selling price in order to accelerate sales and avoid the high cost of managing unsold food. Click here for the report.
In this food waste working group meeting, we will hear from retailers and their latest thinking on their markdown strategy, including the promotion of the discount via apps, or in the case in the image above, at the entrance of the store via a QR code that also shows the location, we will hear lessons learnt on apps such as Flashfood, Gander, etc. Through to learnings on the discount slopes, the number of “days out” when the markdown is introduced, the use of dedicated locations for the discounted products, and then innovations in the date checking process. Maybe we might even re-visit the self service marking down station that was presented about five years ago! And then there is the “positioning” of the programme on the sticker, and in what colour, traditionally yellow. And please note, this is not an exhaustive list of the many different and new ways retailers are thinking about markdowns.
Expect in this meeting to be both reassured and inspired. This meeting is for retailers, producers and academics only.


