Sainsbury’s Cost- & Waste-Reducing Frozen Food
Published 04 October 2022
On September 27 and 28, British supermarket Sainsbury’s opened the doors of Sainsfreeze – a walk-in-freezer concept store in London food court Boxpark Shoreditch. In a bid to eliminate waste and highlight cost-saving hacks, the pop-up offered free, innovatively frozen food staples to visitors.
With shelves filled with frozen groceries that would typically be bought fresh, Sainsfreeze encouraged customers to stock up on fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, fish and baked goods free of charge.
Responding to the 58% of British consumers turning to cost-cutting tactics like throwing away less food (35%) and buying more reduced-price produce (45%) (Sainsbury’s, 2022), the offerings were frozen in unique ways to alleviate food waste, inspiring shoppers to recreate the methods at home. Hacks included combining wilted herbs with oil or water in ice trays (with the resulting cubes suitable for popping into soups and stews) and freezing minced meat in flattened portions to save space.
“Innovative freezing not only allows us to save food we would otherwise have thrown away, but also to buy reduced food close to its use-by date, saving even more money on the weekly grocery bill,” said Ruth Cranston, Sainsbury’s director of corporate responsibility and sustainability.
The Sainsfreeze initiative presents a practical way in which supermarkets can support cash-strapped consumers amid the rising cost of living and soaring inflation rates. For another example, see frozen food retailer Iceland and energy supplier Utilita’s (both British) Shop Smart, Cook Savvy campaign.
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