SPAR Hungary rolls out new food-saving app nationwide

The retailer has partnered with Munch to provide a new solution for customers to have access to cheaper products before their due date.

After a successful six-month pilot, SPAR Hungary rolled out a new app for food-saving across all SPAR and INTERSPAR stores nationwide. The Munch platform will offer cheaper, faster and more convenient access to food products before they go to waste.

Reducing food waste is a key pillar of the retailer’s sustainability programme, strengthened through this recent initiative. Munch was created by Hungarian innovators to cut food waste and promote sustainable, responsible, food consumption.

The service is available through both an app and a website, offering customers a quick and convenient tool. Users reserve the selected package, pay online, and collect the products within a set time slot.

At participating stores, a variety of products, ranging from fruit and vegetables, to meat and dairy products, can be included in the SPAR Munch packages, all nearing the end of their shelf-life. The packages are sold for a third of the original price.

During the past six months, over 26,000 packages were purchased, reducing food waste by almost 26 tonnes. Through awareness generation via the app, food which is reaching its shelf-life expiration can not only be purchased for consumption but can then be donated to those in need.