East of England Co-op saved more than 1.8 million meals from going to landfill during 2024, as part of its goal of moving towards zero food waste.

The retailer worked with the Retail Insight partnership, which provides in-store software, to use an AI-powered markdown system. This automatically identifies products that are nearing their expiration date, alerting staff members to reduce their prices.

The system allows staff to focus only on products where action is needed, and avoids time-consuming manual checks. It is integrated with electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which flash to alert staff when a prompted markdown is required.

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After being installed in all East of England Co-op stores with ESLs, the system prevented 1.8 million meals from entering landfill last year, says the retailer.

East of England Co-op chief retail officer Sam Winter said, “We want to use technology to improve the lives of our colleagues, our customers, our members and the community.

“Retail Insight’s WasteInsight solution is a great example of how we can do that. We listed to feedback and have reduced manual effort and frustration for colleagues in-store, ensuring we can give great deals on products to our customers, and importantly put the society on a trajectory to meet our target to reduce food waste to 0% by 2030.”

Last year, the East of England Co-op extended its relationship with Retail Insight for a further three years.