Trial of £2 mystery food bundles helps Iceland reduce food waste and Olio users access discounts through one simple system.
Iceland Foods is extending a trial of Olio’s latest food waste reduction initiative, Lucky Dip, offering customers an innovative new way to access discounted food while helping to reduce waste.
The Lucky Dip scheme allows Iceland to sell bundles of at least eight reduced-to-clear items for just £2 through Olio’s app – offering a discount of around 75% off the usual price. Local Olio users can reserve Lucky Dip bags via the app before heading into
store to collect and pay.
The initiative, currently up-and-running in 14 stores, aims to reduce food waste by giving surplus or short-dated items a second chance, while making food more affordable for local communities. One Olio user said: “I think this is a brilliant idea… I got home
and had just under £20 worth of food that can last a few days.”, with another adding “We picked up the Lucky Dip bag… it was fantastic value for money, and we’d do it again.”
In addition, Iceland store colleagues can seamlessly manage Lucky Dip bag reservations within the same integrated system they use for existing Olio surplus food donations destined for the local community. That way, Olio and Iceland can guarantee that good food doesn’t go to waste and reaches local dinner tables.
This expanded trial follows a successful smaller-scale pilot that Iceland and Olio conducted across 7 stores in October last year, demonstrating the partners’ commitment to scaling innovative solutions to food waste.
The environmental impact of this collaboration has been substantial – through saving seven million meals from going to waste, Iceland has had the same impact as taking 45 million car miles off the road and saving 2.2 billion litres of water.
Stuart Lendrum, Iceland Foods director of product, process and sustainability, said: “As a part of our ‘Doing It Right’ philosophy, we’re committed to reducing food waste while supporting our customers and communities.
“The expansion of our partnership with Olio through the Lucky Dip scheme is a great example of how we can combine innovation and sustainability to make a real difference, ensuring good food is never wasted.”
Saasha Celestial-One, Olio’s COO and co-founder, said: “Working with Iceland on Lucky Dip bags has been a wonderful addition to our already highly impactful partnership. We’ve loved developing another way for retailers to fight food waste through Olio,
streamlining discounting and surplus redistribution into one simple system, and taking the operational burden off store colleagues. We’re looking forward to seeing where this new discounting chapter takes us next!”
An incredible 33,928 Olio volunteers have rescued surplus food from 1,013 stores, helping to share over 9.5 million food items with communities across the country. Thanks to their efforts, more than 4.5 million kilograms of food have been saved from going to
waste – making a powerful impact on both people and the planet.
