Member Article

Shoppers urged to stock up responsibly

Approved Food, the UK’s largest online retailer of surplus food and drink, today reacted to the news that some supermarkets were rationing supplies of certain items by offering shoppers access to its plentiful supplies of staple items such as kitchen roll, dried pasta and tinned beans for home delivery. This is to allow people to stock up without putting additional pressure on the already stretched retail supply chain.

Some stores have rationed sales of essential food and household items such as tinned vegetables, rice, noodles, UHT milk and anti-bacterial wipes. As a result of this shelves are being cleared by people stockpiling goods as the number of cases of coronavirus in the UK continues to rise.

Approved Food, however, specialises in the sale of store-cupboard essentials – and as a result, has substantial supplies that shoppers can access without having to leave the house.

Andy Needham, Approved Food MD, said: “Demand has risen over the past few days and the advice from the Government is that there is no need for people to stockpile goods. However, many people have not listened to this advice and some retailers have a problem. At the moment, it is ‘business as usual’ on supplies for us.

“If people do want to buy a few extras without putting further pressure on the supply chain, we specialise in just the type of essentials that are currently in demand – and we’re not about to put a price increase on any of these items.

“We have always put limits on certain items to make sure we “spread the love” and give all our customers the opportunity to try new things, but no-one will be disappointed by the amount they can buy. We will continue this strategy as part of keeping “common sense” at the top of the agenda.”

Approved Food is the UK’s biggest exclusively online retailer of surplus food and drink, specialising in products that would otherwise go to waste such as short-dated food and drink, cancelled orders, and products with changes in packaging design. The retailer also handles goods with obscure sizes or flavours, alongside everyday staples.

Over the years, other categories such as pet, alcohol, gifts and health and beauty have been added to the website which now carries over 5,500 active product lines, many on a “here today, gone tomorrow” basis.

Established over a decade ago, highlights include TV appearances on Dragons’ Den, Loose Women and Food Fighters. In May 2019, Approved Food was praised by the then Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Gove for its work to reduce food waste through awareness of the difference between use by and best before dates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Wobschall .