Tesco is urging its customers to ‘take stock before the shop’ as nine in 10 shoppers don’t know what is already in their kitchen before they go to the supermarket, new research shows.
The Big 4 grocer says this leads to increased spending, duplicate purchases, incomplete meals and food waste as ingredients are overlooked.
To tackle this, Tesco is encouraging shoppers to make a shopping list and take stock of what they already have in the house before purchasing more food.
It is also looking to the nation to implement a Use Up Day once a week, cooking a meal using food already in their kitchen which could reduce the amount of food thrown away by a third, the equivalent of £260 in savings per year.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
This comes following new research commissioned by Tesco via YouGov, which found that despite 65% of shoppers acknowledging that an at-home stock take would help to reduce food waste, 80% don’t always do this.
Of those surveyed, 68% have purchased food without realising they already have it at home, while 62% have missed items from a food shop because they thought they already had it and as a result, 73% have thrown away forgotten items that they never got around to eating.
Of those items being thrown away, 60% said this typically includes baked goods such as loaves and rolls, while 27% bin jars of condiments and 13% throw away tinned produce such as beans or tuna.
“At Tesco, we want our customers to be able to get more out of their food shop whilst keeping delicious meals on the table,” Tesco head of campaigns, Tony McElroy said.
“That’s why we’re encouraging shoppers to implement a weekly Use Up Day, take stock of what they have in their kitchens and make a shopping list before going out to shop. A little planning can help to spend less and reduce food waste, helping both our pockets and the planet.”
