East of England Co-op ‘Best Before’ scheme shortlisted for national award

The East of England Co-op has been named a finalist in The Grocer Gold Awards 2018 for its ground-breaking initiative to sell food after the Best Before date.

Held annually, the influential industry awards celebrate the highest standards and innovation in grocery retail.

The nomination comes for the East of England Co-op’s innovative food waste reduction scheme, ‘The Co-op Guide to Dating’, in the Waste Not Want Not award category, which recognises the most successful approaches made by retailers to reduce waste in their supply chain.

Launched in December 2017, The Co-op Guide to Dating saw East Anglia’s largest independent retailer take the food retail industry by storm by becoming the first major retailer to sell products past their Best Before date. Products such as tinned goods and packets are sold for a nominal 10p for up to a month past their Best Before, although typically most are sold within days or even hours of being reduced.

The winners of The Grocer Gold Awards 2018 will be announced at a glittering black tie event, hosted by renowned impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner, on Tuesday 12 June at London’s Guildhall.