Harald Mießner, Chief Sales Officer at BILLA: “As a food retailer, our top priority is to use the resources available to us responsibly. That's why we are constantly working to minimize food waste along the supply chain - be it through precise demand planning in the stores, price reductions for products that will soon reach their best-before date, or through our close cooperation with charitable institutions, social markets and other partners. Our customers also support this by giving 'Wunderlingen' and fruit & vegetable bags a second chance, for example!”
Needs-based orders lead to less waste
At BILLA, the sustainable use of resources starts with the ordering of goods. In all BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores, individual order quantities are ordered based on forecasts so that only products that are actually needed are available. If there are still products left over that are approaching their best-before date, they are offered at a reduced price. They can be identified by “Food is precious” stickers to raise awareness.
BILLA donated over 4,350 tons of food to charitable institutions this year
Every BILLA and BILLA PLUS location works together with a charitable organization in its neighborhood and provides it with products close to the best-before date free of charge. Volunteers collect these from the stores. Thanks to this close cooperation, over 4,350 tons of goods have already been saved since January. They have benefited Team Österreich Tafel, Caritas, SOMA and smaller organizations such as Flachgauer Tafel, Pannonische Tafel, the Foodsharing initiative and charitable associations such as Allesverwerter, Hoffnungsschimmer and Lebensmittelretter OÖ.
Customers saved over 2,700 tons of fruit and vegetables in discounted bags
A simple and very effective method for saving food has been very popular with customers for over two years now: Fruit and vegetables that only have minor visual defects or no packaging are available in all BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores - depending on availability - in 3.5 kilo bags for €3.50 each. In this way, bananas, apples, peppers etc. that are perfectly edible are given a second chance. Since the beginning of the year, another 2,700 tons of food have been saved by BILLA together with customers in this way.
Since January, BILLA customers have taken around 2,000 tons of “Wunderlinge” home with them
For over a decade, the “Wunderlinge” brand has been making its way into BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores, bringing fruit and vegetables to the shelves that are of the best quality and have a crisp, fresh taste despite their unconventional appearance. This year, almost 2,000 tons of Wunderlinge have already passed through the checkout throughout Austria and landed on our plates despite their blemishes.
Over 1,000 tons of baked goods already processed into animal feed
A different kind of food rescue: in April 2024, BILLA launched a new pilot project with Austrian horse and livestock feed producer KÖNIGSHOFER to reuse baked goods that can no longer be sold or donated. Since the project was rolled out to over 1,200 BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores in Austria, over 1,000 tons of baked goods have already been turned into high-quality animal feed - and thus saved from disposal.
[1] “Land schafft Leben": https://www.landschafftleben.at/lebensmittelverschwendung
