EG Group paper bag

EG Group has announced that it has prevented more than one million bags of food from going to waste in the UK through its partnership with Too Good To Go.

Too Good To Go works with companies to prevent food waste by allowing customers to purchase surplus food from restaurants, convenience retailers and producers at a discounted rate.

Users download the free Too Good To Go app and search for nearby businesses that offer unsold food, where they can then purchase a ‘Magic Bag’, collect it at an allotted time and enjoy well-known brands at discounted prices.

EG’s partnership with Too Good To Go started in 2018 in France, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The UK business joined the initiative in 2020 and has become EG’s largest market for Too Good To Go.

EG first offered ‘Magic Bags’ across a number of its petrol filling station convenience stores and then, due to strong demand, rolled out the app to foodservice partner brands, including Greggs, Starbucks, Cinnabon and Sbarro.

Since the launch of the partnership in September 2018, nearly 1,400 EG stores and concessions have gone live on the Too Good To Go platform across the UK and Europe.

Customers have picked up more than 260,000 ‘Magic Bags’ across mainland Europe from EG Group’s network, and a further one million ‘Magic Bags’ in the UK.

According to EG Group more than 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been saved via the partnership with Too Good To Go.

Amina Batool, head of ESG & Sustainability at EG Group, said: “This is a fantastic milestone in our partnership with Too Good To Go, helping to reduce both food waste and carbon emissions. Our collective efforts have avoided carbon emissions equivalent to nearly 500 flights around the world. Notably, we have seen a spike in the number of users in recent months, as more and more people monitor household spending closely, and hope that this partnership goes some way in supporting families who are looking for ways to combat the increasing cost of living.”

Sophie Trueman, managing director of Too Good To Go UK & Ireland, said: “I’m thrilled to have reached this incredible milestone. EG Group’s commitment to fighting food waste has made them the perfect partner for us, and it’s amazing to see the significant impact we are driving together.

“Saving delicious food from going to waste not only carries huge benefits for our planet, it can also be a great help in making ends meet. I can’t wait to see our EG Group partnership continue to flourish and reduce even more good food from going to waste.”