Finland’s K Group has teamed up with Thrsty to manufacture juices out of edible, discarded fruit, vegetables and berries in a bid to reduce food waste.
Fruit and vegetables are discarded due to bruises during movement at warehouses or for their general appearance.
The company’s central warehouse in Vantaa will use these ingredients to make juices for K-food stores, the retailer added.
'Sustainable Choices'
Timo Jäske, vice-president of sustainability for K Group’s grocery trade division, said, “Conscientious consumption is a growing trend, and more and more of our customers want to make more sustainable choices at the grocery store.
“By buying products that use waste food as ingredients, our customers have a tangible way to help reduce food waste. Buying products made from waste food is a form of modern climate action.”
The juice, branded as Hyvis, will be rolled out in K Group grocery stores from this month.
The ingredients used in making these juices will vary between batches, and K-Group will screen the ingredients meticulously to ensure that they are suitable for making juices.
The product, packed in returnable plastic bottles, will feature the list of ingredients, the company added.
'Responsible Collaboration'
Teemu Laine from Thrsty, commented, “We are thrilled to begin the responsible collaboration with K Group and help reduce unnecessary food waste.”
K Group’s grocery stores already offer several Finnish products made from waste food, such as ice cream made by Suomen jäätelö out of excess bananas, and the Jävla Sås tomato sauce.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
