Food loss reduction– category –

KOMPEITO installed the salad vending machine "SALAD STAND," which changes prices with AI, at JR Kyobashi Station on May 13. It calculates the optimal price from foot traffic and expiration dates, implementing food-loss reduction inside the station.

"Yuri," a student group at Tottori University, spent two years commercializing cookies made from pear leaves. Focusing on abandoned pear orchards that no longer bear fruit, they make use of pesticide-free leaves—we introduce this initiative from Tottori, the home of pears.

"Blue blossom," a snack brand upcycling off-spec vegetables grown in Hokkaido, exhibited at the welfare event WellFes 2026. We introduce its management philosophy of "not making welfare something special" and its efforts to reduce food loss.

Seven-Eleven adopted Toyama-grown komatsuna, which tends to be discarded for overgrowing, in its "Red Salmon Barley-Rice Onigiri." We explain this food-loss-reduction effort, sold at about 340 Hokuriku stores from June 2, in partnership with JA Zen-Noh Toyama.

Kagome released nationwide a 100% juice that reproduces the taste of orange without using orange juice, as the first product of its new brand "KAGOME Beyond." We explain the details of the alternative beverage completed over about 2 years and 40 prototypes, and the background of the global orange supply crisis.

Yamanashi's KEIPE and the Kiyosato Milk Plant will release a new gelato "Noryo Jealousy," combining whey produced in cheese-making with off-spec fruit, on April 28, 2026. We summarize the background of the release and where to buy it.

22 companies led by Kagome launched an idea contest 2026 for students on March 2. Against intake of 218g for men and 210g for women in their 20s, it invites measures to close the gap to the 350g target. Realistic solutions such as keeping dried vegetables stocked in the office are also welcome.

"This tomato can't be shipped—its calyx is a bit cracked." With harvested vegetables before them, such words are exchanged among production sites not infrequently. Vegetables that fall out of distribution based solely on "shape" or "size," even though the flavor, aroma, and the effort of growing them should be the same...

"Dried vegetables," made by drying vegetables, offer diverse benefits for the food industry and restaurants. They keep well and cut down on prep, which leads to lower operating costs and can also broaden the menu. Because they also help reduce food loss,...

スーパーに並ぶ野菜は、どれも大きさと形がそろっています。そこから外れた野菜が「規格外野菜」です。 ただ、「規格外野菜が年間◯万トン捨てられている」という数字は、出どころをたどると農林水産省の統計を本来とは別の意味で使っていることが多くあり...

On January 28, 2026, the Denmark-born food-loss-reduction app "Too Good To Go" entered the Japanese market. Registered users topped 250,000 within a week of launch, and it captured the No.1 overall ranking on the App Store. This speed shows that Japanese consumers...

In 2026, the world's food-waste cost is projected to reach 540 billion dollars. This is up from 526 billion dollars the previous year, and if this continues, cumulative losses for 2025–2030 will reach 3.4 trillion dollars. This figure, reported by New Food Magazine based on expert analysis, relates to the UN SDGs' Goal 12...

The Ministry of the Environment announced that food loss generated within Japan in FY2023 (fiscal 2023) was about 4.64 million tons. This is an 80,000-ton reduction from the previous fiscal year (FY2022) figure of about 4.72 million tons, and a steady improving trend continues. However, reaching the government's FY2030 target still requires a large...

The Denmark-born food-loss-reduction app "Too Good To Go" was adopted on March 26, 2026, at stores of Super Value (operated by OIC Group), the first domestic supermarket chain to do so. The service starts first at two stores in Tokyo, Super Value Suginami Takaido and Todoroki...

Cabbage Stays High at 149 yen/kg in Late March—Amid Continued Price Instability of Spring Vegetables, Why the "Stability" of Dried Vegetables Draws Attention

AEON-Born Sustainable Chocolate | Achieving Cacao-Free with Sunflower Seeds

FamilyMart × Food-Loss App Cuts Waste 5% | Convenience Stores Move

Upcycled Foods Expand | The New Value of Off-Spec Vegetables

“Non-standard vegetables” discarded without reaching the market for reasons such as appearance or size not meeting standards. Although they are still perfectly edible, many are discarded, making them a major cause of food loss. Today, putting such non-standard vegetables to use is drawing attention...

With about 40% of the food produced worldwide being discarded, “upcycle foods” are drawing attention as a new solution that turns that waste into value. This article explains the idea of upcycling—breathing new life into ingredients and byproducts destined for disposal—and the Kyoto-born dried vegetable brand “OY...

Soaring resource prices, pressure for environmental consideration, the current toward sustainable management. What companies are now called on to have is a “use-it-all” mindset. Drawing attention is the use of “unused resources” overlooked until now—byproducts of discarded crops, ingredients dormant in regions, and what comes out during processing...

Maple & apple granola using dried apple. Under the mission “fermenting the earth,” Oryzae Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells sugar-free, additive-free, gluten-free granola and rice-koji sauces centered on rice koji. We provided dried apple, and...