How can you tailor food waste prevention actions for specific consumer groups?

In the European Union

consumers are responsible for over half of total food waste

occurring both at home and in venues like restaurants, canteens, and schools.

To reduce food waste, we need to change consumer behaviours.

For example, when consumers plan their meals

or when they shop, store, prepare or consume their food.

A range of factors affects the amount of food waste:

from individual habits to broader contextual elements

such as shopping and consumption environments, alongside the cost of food

its availability, and food-related policies.

How can you take effective action to prevent consumer food waste?

First, define and understand your target groups.

Pay attention to their individual characteristics and situations.

Then, tailor your action

according to the needs and characteristics of the selected target group

or according to a situation.

Audience segmentation plays a crucial role when you define your target group.

It requires dividing a larger group of people into smaller groups

based on common characteristics.

Here is how you can do it:

Develop target groups based on individuals’ characteristics

like their motivation and awareness regarding food waste, or simply their age.

These factors can significantly influence their habits when it comes to discarding food.

You can also define target groups based on situations

such as the timing and place where people plan their meals, shop for groceries, or eat.

For instance, your food waste prevention actions

could focus on families with children who frequently cook at home

or busy young professionals who often eat take-away food.

There are at least three groups of consumers that would benefit

from targeted actions to help them reduce food waste.

First, the vulnerable groups, which include people

in precarious situations who need support to waste less food.

The second group

the “easily adaptable group” or the low-hanging fruit.

It includes people who are more likely to respond to actions

and whose behaviours and perceptions are easier to change.

Finally, the third segment consists of “big wasters” or the “hot spots”.

It focuses on people who waste a lot

and where action is particularly needed to change their behaviour.

Once you have defined your target group, make sure to tailor your food waste prevention actions.

Consider how you can tailor your action to match the target group.

For instance, providing kitchen tools such as a measuring cup

in order to cook the right amount of food and avoid waste

may be a more effective action for those who frequently cook at home

rather than for those who do not cook at all -

this is a form of tailoring.

Let's recap!

Before you select, design, and implement your food waste

prevention action, you should consider the following questions.

First: identify your target groups.

Who are the individuals that need the most support

those most likely to change their food waste behaviour and who are the highest wasters?

Next, answer which behaviour do you want to change?

Why do people waste food and in which situations do they waste it?

And finally, think of how you can tailor your action

to help your target group change their behaviour.

Which tools would be the most efficient?

By following these simple steps, you can maximise the impacts

of your actions, making them more targeted and efficient.

For more information on how to best define your target audience

and tailor your food waste reduction action

have a look at the corresponding report!