Aldi, the discount supermarket chain, has revealed that its partnership with the food redistribution platform Too Good To Go has resulted in over £7 million in savings for its customers.
Through this partnership, customers have the opportunity to buy “Surprise bags” containing surplus food. Since the initiative’s start in February 2023, more than half a million of these bags have been sold.
Aldi reports that this initiative has prevented approximately 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions by distributing food at discounted prices that would otherwise have been discarded.
These Surprise bags, filled with a variety of grocery items nearing their sell-by or use-by dates, are available to shoppers at a lower cost.
Highlighting the areas where consumers have benefited the most from this scheme, Aldi pointed out that Birmingham leads with around 14,000 Surprise bags acquired, translating to savings of “more than £270,000” for shoppers. London is a close second with 11,800 bags, saving shoppers over £230,000. In Liverpool and Northampton, shoppers have reportedly saved about £130,000 and £100,000, respectively.
Liz Fox, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, expressed her enthusiasm, saying, “It is amazing to see the sheer number of our customers that have made the most of our Too Good To Go Surprise Bags since launching last year.”
She added, “This partnership not only allows us to reduce food waste and demonstrate our commitment to being a sustainable retailer, but also enables our customers to access quality food whilst saving even more on their shop.”