No Waste Pet Food at Discounted Prices
Food waste-reducing application Flashfood has partnered with Ren’s Pets to allow customers to purchase discounted pet food nearing its best-before date.
Flashfood is a mobile application designed to reduce food waste. Because many foods at grocery stores have a best-before-date, after which it becomes unsellable based on the store policy, a lot of food ends up in the landfill.
Flashfood has partnered with over 1550 retail locations in Canada and the United States to sell discounted food nearing its best-before date. Customers browse deals on their phones of up to 50% off from stores near them. They pay for their food directly on the app and then pick up their purchases at the selected grocery store.
Since the app took off in 2016, Flashfood has diverted over 65 million pounds of food and has helped save shoppers over $150 million in food costs. Typically, the products sold at discounted prices through the application have been for human consumption ranging from produce and meats to grocery items. Flashfood has recently announced a partnership with a Canadian retailer to sell discounted pet food. This is the first time a waste-reduction app has included pet food at discounted prices.
Ren’s Pets is a leading Canadian specialty retailer, carrying the largest selection of pet supplies, including pet food, treats and toys. Like human food, kibble, wet food, raw food, and treats have an expiration date. If these foods are fed to pets after that date, it can make them ill. Many pet stores will throw away near-expired pet food, which inevitably ends up in the landfill.
Ren’s Pets decided to partner with Flashfood due to the increase in pet ownership during the global pandemic. As a result, pet food sales in Canada jumped by 20 billion USD from 2019 to 2022. Moreover, cat and dog owners will spend about $300 a year on pet food and treats and even more if they are buying premium pet food. Ren’s Pets wanted to find a way to serve their customers by offering their top-quality pet food products at reduced prices. They also wanted to help pet owners save money, support their sustainability interests and, above all, support the pets’ nutritional needs.
The pet food can be purchased directly on the Flashfood application and picked up at a Ren’s Pets store. Customers will save up to 50% off of high-quality food items that are nearing their best-by-date. The application is currently available to eleven locations in Ontario, but there are plans to expand to all 45 locations across Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
This partnership will have a significant impact on reducing pet food waste. As the pet industry continues to grow, more owners will look for places to find affordable and nutritional pet food for their fur babies. By getting more pet stores on board, they can help reduce pet food waste all over the country and even the globe.
