Circular economy and food waste: IKEA leverages digital tools to cut down food waste

July 10, 2018 | Case Study

Food waste is a major global problem, and minimizing food waste is undoubtedly one of the main issues that companies in food production, service, and retail sectors are trying to tackle. With an appreciable turnover of about €1.8 billion in 2017, IKEA's sideline food business is gradually gaining more attention. IKEA is addressing sustainability across all of its businesses, and for the food business, it launched the “Food is Precious" initiative in 2017, which aims to cut food waste in its operations by 50% by the end of 2020. To achieve this, the company has partnered with two technology providers, Winnow Solutions and LeanPath (the former in Europe and the latter in the U.S.). Both companies develop automated food waste tracking systems for commercial kitchens. Currently, 35% of all IKEA stores (about 140) have implemented this technology solution in their restaurant kitchens.