Motatos saved 25,642 tonnes of food from ending up in landfill last year, as it continues to offer low-cost sustainable alternatives for customers.
The 2022 figures represent an all-time high for the Swedish online supermarket, with a 22.5% uplift on food saved compared with 2021 figures. Globally, Motatos has saved an estimated £51m worth of waste, based on the estimated average value of food waste per tonne.
In the UK market, Motatos has saved 399 tonnes of food – equivalent to £798,000 and 323 tonnes of CO2 emissions – from going to waste since launching in June 2022.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
The discount grocer sells products that risk ending up in landfill for things such as damaged packaging, low sell by dates or discontinued items, for a discounted rate.
Food waste is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK – of this waste, the equivalent of over 15 billion meals could have been saved. However, one third of all food that is being produced is never consumed.
“We’re starting to see a shift in how we’re approaching food waste in the UK and globally,” Founder of Motatos, Karl Andersson said.
He added: “In 2022 we saw supermarkets start to tackle the issue by removing ‘best before’ dates on packaging, encouraging consumers to consider whether their food is okay to eat rather than assuming it isn’t because of what it says on the label.
“All of this is great to see but there is still an unnecessary amount of food ending up in landfill.”
Andersson explained that it is their ambition to help people on their journey to cutting down on food waste, all whilst showing them that “sustainability really can and should be affordable.”
He also said: “We’re overwhelmed by the response we’ve seen in the UK market in the short time since we launched.
“We had over 20,000 people sign up in anticipation before we went live, and we continue to see there is a huge appetite for the UK to tackle food waste.”
Last year, Motatos raised £33m in its series C funding round, taking its total funding to £122m.
