MONTRÉAL – IGA and FoodHero are announcing the launch of a mobile app to fight food waste and offer Quebecers discounts on perfectly edible food close to their expiration date. After successfully launching a pilot project in its Langelier store in collaboration with Montréal-based start-up FoodHero, IGA is expanding its program to five other stores before ultimately rolling it out to all of its Québec supermarkets.
This program is a win-win for consumers and retailers: consumers get discounted food and grocers sell their products, avoiding the economic and environmental (CO2 emissions) costs generated by producing, transporting and sending to a landfill food that is never eaten.
The FoodHero app is very easy to use. Simply locate your nearest participating grocery store, fill your in-app shopping cart as desired, and pick up your order from your selected store at a time that works for you during business hours. The app features new deals every day, including meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy, eggs, even prepared meals. With its simple interface, FoodHero makes shopping quick and easy. Users and grocers can also track, in real time, their personal impact on food waste reduction, calculated as CO2 emissions and kilograms of products saved, as well as the money saved.
“FoodHero was born from the desire to reduce food waste. The numbers revealed by scientific research are shocking, and, as citizens and entrepreneurs, we wanted to create a tangible solution to combat this epidemic,” explains Jonathan Defoy, Founder of FoodHero. “IGA quickly showed interest in the idea, and we are proud to announce this partnership. One of the challenges was making the app completely compatible with IGA’s systems, so that every day, and for every store, all of the products that would otherwise have been wasted could be offered. We are also in talks with other local companies, as well as a few large US players, who are considering implementing FoodHero. The excitement around tools that help reduce food waste is palpable, and we are happy to contribute to these solutions,” he adds.
“Sobeys, IGA’s parent company, has set a goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025,” says Carl Pichette, Vice-President of Marketing for Sobeys Inc. “After reviewing the options available on the market, we chose FoodHero, a local start-up with a highly experienced team, to help us achieve this objective.”
About IGA
IGA is the largest group of independent grocers in Canada, and has been operating in Québec since 1953. IGA’s 295 retailers are constantly seeking new ways to better serve their customers. The IGA banner includes IGA, IGA Extra and IGA Express stores. IGA is the only group of food retailers to offer consumers the opportunity to accumulate AIR MILESTM reward miles.
About FoodHero
FoodHero is a start-up founded by Jonathan Defoy, a serial entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is supported by Alain Brisebois, a strategic advisor who has held several senior management positions at major retailers in the food industry. It took almost 18 months to develop this comprehensive solution. In addition to offering discounted products at participating retailers, FoodHero also calculates the CO2 “savings” by avoiding residual waste using a scientific formula validated by a firm with recognized expertise in renewable energy. FoodHero is one of the social impact investments made by the Lune Rouge Group, founded by Guy Laliberté. To learn more: FoodHero.com
