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The Giant Company targets food waste with Flashfood app pilot

Also, Loblaw Cos. to bring app to more stores to sell near-expiring products at discount

Russell Redman

May 26, 2020

3 Min Read
Flashfood zone pickup area-customer
Items purchased near their "best before" date via the Flashfood app are picked up at the "Flashfood zone" inside the participating store.Flashfood

The Giant Company is testing the Flashfood app at four Pennsylvania supermarkets to help reduce store-generated food waste.

Also on Tuesday, Toronto-based Flashfood said Canadian food and drug retailer Loblaw Cos. Plans to roll out the app to more stores after diverting millions of pound of food from landfills under the program last year.

Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant, part of Ahold Delhaize USA, said the Flashfood app is now available at four Giant stores in Lancaster, Pa.: 1008 Lititz Pike, 550 Centerville Rd., 1360 Columbia Ave and 1605 Lititz Pike.

The Flashfood mobile app helps cut down on food waste in stores by enabling customers to buy near-expiring products at a discount. Giant said shoppers using the app can purchase fresh produce, meat, deli and bakery items close to their “best before” date at significantly reduced prices.

“The Giant Company is committed to doing everything it can to preserve the communities we live and work in for future generations, and reducing food waste is central to our efforts,” Sepideh Burkett, vice president of store support at The Giant Company, said in a statement. “Working with Flashfood, not only will we be providing our customers with savings on safe, high-quality food items, but we’ll also continue to minimize our environmental impact by diverting even more food waste away from landfills.”

Related:Meijer goes chainwide with Flashfood

Purchases made through the app, which can be downloaded free for iOS and Android mobile devices, can be picked up by shoppers the same day from the “Flashfood zone” area inside the participating Giant store.

“The last few months have dramatically altered consumers’ food habits. Collectively, we are remembering how vital the grocery store is for our communities,” according to Josh Domingues, Flashfood founder and CEO.  “We’re incredibly proud to partner with The Giant Company for this pilot in Lancaster. This is a time where people need to save money more than ever. The way that Giant is providing the community with an innovative way to save money while reducing food waste through the Flashfood app is incredible.”

In Canada, the Flashfood app is slated to become available at additional Loblaw Cos. supermarkets this year, including 38 Independent Grocer stores in the spring plus selected No Frills locations.

Initially launched in 138 Maxi and Provigo stores throughout Quebec, the Flashfood app was rolled out nationwide to more than 400 Loblaw Cos. stores in the second half of 2019, including the Loblaw, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, Dominion, and Zehrs banners. Using the app, Loblaw Cos. shoppers can buy food items — including meat, produce, bakery, dairy and non-perishable products — nearing their expiration date at up to 50% off.

Related:Loblaw steps up rollout of Flashfood

“This is a simple tool that helps ensure that perfectly good food ends up where it belongs: on someone's plate and not in the landfill,” commented Sharla Paraskevopoulos, senior vice president of market operations at Loblaw Cos. “Our stores and our customers have told us how much they love the convenience and the savings that go along with this program. We’re excited to get the app into the hands of more customers in 2020.”

Flashfood reported that, to date, its app has topped 1 million downloads in Canada, where in 2019 the program helped divert 4.6 million pounds of potential food waste from landfills, feed more than 110,000 families and save shoppers over $10 million on groceries.

Overall, Flashfood said it has diverted more than 5 million pounds of food through its grocery retail partnerships. Besides Giant and Loblaw, Flashfood retail partners include Hy-Vee and Meijer, and the app has been piloted with Canadian grocers Longo’s and Farm Boy (part of Sobeys Inc.), as well as with Target Corp. Flashfood has said it plans to make its app available at more U.S. stores.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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