“If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the US and China,” Claire Lancaster, Head of Food & Drink at WGSN, says about the environmental impact of food waste.
Much food waste ends up in landfill, generating 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Globally, almost 2.5bn tons of food goes to waste annually, accounting for approximately 40% of food grown worldwide, according to a 2021 study by WWF and Tesco.
This is a huge amount of waste that is inherently unsustainable to maintain. But it is also a huge opportunity for innovation. This problem invites creative solutions to find ways to make use of something that would otherwise just add to the ever-growing problem of human waste.
SAGES uses this opportunity to create our natural dyes, tackling food waste issues and providing a sustainable solution to the dangers of synthetic dye.
According to WGSN proprietary data, mentions and interest in “food waste” and “compost” have risen across all segments since 2018;
Food waste is talked about on social media, evidencing consumer interest. Peaks of interest took place in the first months of the pandemic and in March 2021, coinciding with the UK’s first Food Waste Action Week.
As consumer awareness about the scale and impact of the issue grows, strategies to reduce and better utilize these streams are on the rise. Some of these solutions, such as edible, invisible coatings that extend a food’s shelf life, are gaining traction and rapidly moving into the mainstream. Others such as 3D printing remain further from the market but present opportunities for brands to consider.
As consumer awareness about the scale and impact of the issue grows, strategies to reduce and better utilise these streams are on the rise. Some of these solutions, such as edible, invisible coatings that extend a food’s shelf life, are gaining traction and rapidly moving into the mainstream. Others such as 3D printing remain further from the market but present opportunities for brands to consider. This is a new exciting world which SAGES is excited to be a part of.