Frozen food supplier KPFF launches OOPS! retail operations focused on reducing food waste

OOPS!, the new retail operation of frozen food supplier KPFF, has launched its first two stores in Preston and Bolton and has plans to roll out a further 30 stores around the UK in 2021. OOPS! brings a new focus to the food industry by selling surplus food that would otherwise go to landfill when it is still perfectly edible.

Food becomes surplus for simple reasons such as over-production, retailer and food service delists, labelling or packaging errors, underweights, goods having slight imperfections or a short shelf-life. All of these factors contribute to the increasing food waste statistics – 1.9 million tonnes being wasted by the food industry every year and of that, 250,000 tonnes are still edible which equates to nine meals for every child living in poverty in the UK.

“We have to stop sending perfectly good food to waste simply because it has an imperfection on the packaging or there has been an error in the manufacturing process and it no longer complies with retailer’s specifications,” said Elaine Stevens, technical manager, OOPS!

“OOPS! provides another option for manufacturers and retailers to stop their food waste going to landfill and help feed more people in crisis in our communities. Every item we buy, we give a new lease of life to. At OOPS!we fully understand food manufacturing, supply chain and retail processes and the challenges within them. We have therefore developed and built an operation of our own thatstrips surplus retailer own-label, branded and food service products, repack and label them at our purpose-built site in Liverpool and then sell them direct to customers in our new stores at incredible prices.

“Using our team of highly skilled and experienced staff we have started working with leading manufacturers to develop a supply chain solution that will help the manufacturer to achieve the highest level of manufacturing efficiency while protecting their relationships with all their customers (retailers, distributors and food service operators).”

OOPS! currently works with a whole host of manufacturers including; Midland Bacon, to reduce their food surplus.

“We’re proud to be part of an expanding portfolio of manufacturing and retail partners that are truly committed to reducing landfill, helping more low-income households feed their families and delivering great food at the right price,” explains Chris Cox, CEO, Midland Bacon.

“OOP! offers a service that ensures all removal of our current packaging and any or all intellectual property rights prior to selling products whilst also disposing of all the packaging in accordance with the appropriate Waste & Retailer standards.”

Food safety is also at the core of OOPS! operations.

Elaine continued: “As many of the products we purchase are close to or just past the best before date, we conduct our own testing such as microbiological and organoleptic examinations to further check that all products we retail are more than suitable for consumption.”

What OOPS! is proposing is that many more manufacturers and the retailers in the UK start conversations and work together to explore other ways of reducing waste through increased redistribution.

Noel Davis, CEO, OOPS! ends: “Now is the perfect time to act, as the impacts of COVID-19 and a second lockdown are felt across the country, more and more families are struggling with access to affordable, nutritious food. We are here to help deliver sustainable solutions to this challenge – it is crucial that at every stage of the food chain we find ever more effective ways to collaborate. We are offering a long-term solution, not a short-term fix.”

OOPS! has plans to open two more stores ahead of Christmas in St Helens and Warrington.

https://oopsclearance.co.uk/

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