A new partnership aiming to tackle commercial food waste is giving manufacturers a platform to on-sell their surplus — and companies including Patties Foods are taking notice.
Online food surplus marketplace Yume has teamed up with recycling company SUEZ to encourage companies to tackle the problem by offering a way to gain a financial return on their excess product.
To date, the partnership has saved 450,285 kilograms of surplus from landfill — and netted $700,000 for the businesses involved.
Among the companies to take part in initiative is Patties Foods, who listed a consignment of caramel slices and, through Yume, sold these to independent retailers and caterers across Australia.
Yume’s research puts the amount of food wastage generated by the primary production, manufacturing and wholesale sectors at 55% of Australia’s total.
Yume founder Katy Barfield said the new partnership was making important gains in reducing this. And in working towards their goal of preventing 4.1 million tonnes of surplus food from landfill each year.
“Several multinational companies who are also SUEZ customers have now listed high quality surplus food on Yume and we are working with them to ensure those products find a new avenue to market and are consumed as intended,” Ms Barfield said.
“These companies join our network of over 500 food manufacturers, wholesalers and importers that list and sell quality stock through our online marketplace
Founded in 2014, Yume has provided a route for the sale of almost two million kilograms of food in Australia, resulting in a $6 million return for businesses and farmers.