Tackling Food Waste as a Sector: Five Cost Saving Measures 

This is the second article of the three-part series ‘Tackling Food Waste as a Sector’. The previous article explored sustainability and navigating upcoming regulations. Here, our focus is on cost savings. It looks at some of the cost benefits of food waste reduction and how they can have additional benefits for your business.

Reducing Purchase Costs

One of the most immediate benefits of reducing food waste is the potential to lower purchase costs. Better inventory management practices can significantly reduce the amount of food that is ordered and subsequently wasted. Advanced prediction tools and technologies, such as AI-based sales forecasting platforms, can provide accurate predictions and have been shown to reduce food costs by up to 5% by using the platform to inform staff on what, when and how to prepare and cook food, which reduced waste by ensuring correct quantities. 

Enhanced Food Preparation Processes

Food waste often occurs during the preparation stage due to over-preparation and improper handling of ingredients. Monitoring and reducing food waste can lead to significant cost savings. For instance, by tracking waste, restaurants can identify which items are being wasted the most and adjust ordering practices accordingly. Smart scales can give real-time feedback on what items are being wasted and in what quantities so businesses can adjust accordingly. 

Compliance and Reporting

As outlined in our first article on Sustainability, state and federal governments are looking to introduce stricter regulations that will require businesses to monitor and reduce food waste. Acting early can allow owners and employers to implement food waste management systems in a way that benefits their specific business and modes of operation, rather than reacting to the regulations as they are introduced. Having the data and systems in place also simplifies the reporting and compliance processes as they are introduced.

Reputation

Businesses often see implementing food waste reduction strategies as a knock to their reputation. Recent research has shown the risk of legal action around the liability of food donation is negligible, and the actual number of cases brought before a court is close to zero. Moreover, the Australian Senate has recently referred the Tax Laws Amendment ‘Incentivising Food Donations to Charitable Organisations’ Bill 2024 to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. Paired with the introduction of stricter food waste regulations, this leaves an opportunity for businesses to rebrand themselves as national leaders for food waste within the QSR sector, both from an industry and customer perspective.

Action is Cheaper than Inaction

Financial cost is widely cited as the main reason for not taking action to reduce food waste in the kitchen. What is not widely cited is the cost of inaction. As states move closer to stricter regulations around minimising food waste and prioritising climate-friendly initiatives, the assumption that businesses are already doing best practice should be challenged. There is great value in taking a leading stance on food waste in Australia and showing others that food waste isn’t simply a cost of doing business as a QSR.

The insights shared in this article are from the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) QSR Sector Action Plan research project. This research will develop a QSR sector-wide action plan of strategies that can help the Australian QSR industry to reduce food waste. Research to inform this sector action plan is ongoing. We invite QSR industry professionals to contribute by sharing their experiences and insights, for the benefit of the entire sector. To participate in a survey as part of this research please click here. For further information on how to participate please e-mail Dr Li Ping Thong (Lead Chief Investigator).