M&S Food is expanding its partnership with the app Too Good To Go to offer bags of surplus bakery items for less than £4 nationwide. The initiative aims to reduce food waste by making unsold products available to customers at a reduced price.
The surprise bags, priced at £3.80, will contain three to four bakery items with a minimum value of £10.20. Customers can purchase these bags through the Too Good To Go app from Monday to Saturday, starting one hour before store closing time. The rollout will be available across 350 M&S stores.
This nationwide expansion follows a successful trial period in select M&S locations. Lucinda Langton, head of sustainability at M&S Food, stated that the partnership is a practical application of the company's commitment to reducing food waste. "By giving customers access to surprise bags of surplus bakery products, we can help ensure more of our food is enjoyed," Langton said. "The response from our trial stores has been outstanding, and this partnership is another positive step towards our goal of halving food waste by 2030."
The Too Good To Go app, founded in 2015, connects consumers with businesses that have surplus food. The platform has partnered with other major brands and supermarkets, including Greggs, Pret, Aldi, and Morrison's. The company reports having saved over 600 million meals globally and boasts 120 million users and 200,000 partners across 20 countries.
Chelsea Kerr, managing director at Too Good To Go UK & Ireland, expressed enthusiasm for the expanded collaboration. "We're delighted to be partnering with M&S to help make their surplus food available to even more customers across the UK and Ireland," Kerr said. "Food waste is a huge challenge, but partnerships like this show how simple it can be for businesses and consumers to take action together."
Availability of the surprise bags will be limited and subject to daily store inventory. M&S aims to make saving food from waste an accessible part of daily life for more people through this initiative.