Australian Food Pact signatories generated $12 million in additional revenue in 2025 by converting unsold food into higher-value outcomes, including new product development and commercial redistribution, according to End Food Waste Australia (EFWA).
More than 38 businesses are currently signed to the Australian Food Pact, including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash, Simplot, Mars, Goodman Fielder, McCain and Sodexo. However, EFWA said broader participation is required to meet national.
EFWA CEO, Tristan Butt, said reducing food waste was critical to future-proofing Australia’s food system.
“We want 2026 to be the year businesses take action. Reducing food waste isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s good business.
“Saving food cuts costs, and the businesses leading in this space understand the opportunities offered by repurposing food or creating new products,” Butt said.
EFWA estimates 7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted each year in Australia, with 70 per cent considered edible. For businesses, food waste is estimated to cost an average 5.6 per cent of total sales, underscoring the productivity upside of prevention and repurposing strategies.
For businesses, food waste is estimated to cost an average 5.6 per cent of total sales
The organisation’s Australian Food Pact Impact Report (2021–2024) found food waste action helped participating businesses save $57 million over three years, after reducing food waste by 16,000 tonnes and avoiding $2 million in landfill levies.
Since 2022, Pact businesses are also estimated to have avoided 505,000 tonnes of CO2-e emissions, the equivalent to taking 210,000 cars off the road for a year.
Alongside operational improvements, the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is working with companies to commercialise ingredients and products made from food that would otherwise be wasted.
One CRC project with SSS Strawberries has expanded freeze-dried and frozen berry product ranges, with EFWA reporting the initiative reduced food waste by 80 per cent, with an aim to reach zero waste by project end.
SSS Strawberries CEO, Gina Dang, said the program had enabled the business to transform more than 250,000kg of waste into value-add products.
“This research has helped us create great new products for market and consumer consumption. Now instead of going to waste that produce is nourishing more Australians,” Dang said.
SSS Strawberries offshoot – Gina’s Table – won the 2025 Hive Award for Gamechanger and received The Golden Hive Award for its work diverting produce from landfill.
(The 2026 Hive Awards are currently open. Entries close 13 March)
