SWR launches “FoodSmart” – an innovative waste reduction solution for the foodservice industry

HOSPITALITY WASTE expert SWR has launched FoodSmart, an end-to-end service designed to enable foodservice businesses of all sizes to reduce the amount of food that is wasted throughout its journey through the restaurant. The service enables its users to reduce costs, improve profits and improve sustainable performance in the process.

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The service is being launched at a time when the cost of food is rising in the UK and across the world. Increasing attention is being placed by government, customers and the media on the sheer amount of food that is wasted before and after it hits our plates. WRAP estimate that for every restaurant meal prepared and served in the UK, 280 grams of food waste is created. This represents an estimated cost of £2.5bn to the UK hospitality industry.

 

Whether it’s come from stock spoilage, preparation waste or from customer plates, SWR FoodSmart keeps track of the source, weight and value of food as it is thrown away. The technology provides real time data wirelessly to SWR’s consultants; chefs are provided with daily and weekly reports, which allow them to see clearly the sources of wastage and make necessary changes to avoid it continuing.

 

At the heart of the service is the revolutionary Waste Monitor technology from SWR’s strategic partner Winnow. FoodSmart brings together expertise, support, training, consultancy, hardware and software. The complete service has all the necessary components to allow the kitchen and restaurant to identity and address causes of food waste whilst continuing to get on with the business of making and serving meals to customers.

 

The product is being launched and demonstrated at Hotelympia 2014, where Waste Monitor has been shortlisted for the show’s Innovation Awards, which recognises pioneering new products and technologies in the hospitality industry.

 

Trialled in a number of food service establishments across the UK, the service has so far delivered a 30% to 70% reduction in food waste representing savings of anything between 5% and 20% to net profits.

 

SWR FoodSmart offers an upstream solution to the management of food waste, bringing focus to reduction and prevention measures and the associated financial and sustainability benefits. As such this represents a different approach to the traditional waste management model of simply collecting and measuring waste after it’s been created.

 

CEO of SWR, Giles Whiteley said of the launch “Our ethos is that as experts in waste, we need to be able to help our customers reduce the volume they produce; and the best way to do that is to provide good data and supporting advice that draws on our experience across the hospitality industry. The first time I saw the Waste Monitor technology I made the decision that we would build it into a service for our customers. It is an incredibly powerful tool that sits perfectly with the skills and expertise of our staff to address an increasingly important issue.”