Pioneering collaboration empowers consumers to make sustainable choices
The University of Reading has announced a partnership with Mimica on an initiative to reduce food waste and encourage sustainable consumer habits.
The initiative, funded by EIT Food and the European Union, seeks to address challenges in the food industry and empower consumers to make more informed choices.
With 60% of food wasted by EU households still being perfectly edible, there is increasing call for solutions to combat unnecessary waste.
The University of Reading’s involvement in this project focuses on measuring the impact of Mimica’s “Bump Tag” technology on consumer behaviour and waste reduction.
Dr Rachel McCloy, lead researcher from the University of Reading, noted the importance of the institution’s role in understanding how new technologies can support consumer decisions.
“We’re excited to be contributing to this research, which aims to help significantly reduce food waste across Europe,” McCloy said. ‘Ultimately, we want to see innovations like this contribute to a more sustainable food system.”
Heralded as a game-changer in food waste reduction, Mimica’s Bump Tag is a temperature-sensitive, tactile label that dynamically adjusts to food storage conditions, providing real-time information on food freshness.
This technology allows for extended expiry dates on fresh products, potentially reducing home food waste by up to 63% and retail waste by approximately 50%.
Solveiga Pakštaitė, Mimica’s founder & director, said one of Bump’s advantages is it helps print longer expiry dates by considering realistic storage conditions, rather than what he considers, the “worst-case scenarios used by the current expiry date system”.
“We already know it offers significant economic and sustainability benefits for producers, but consumer support is essential for its success,” Pakštaitė explained. “This project will not only deliver our food waste saving technology into the meat and fish industries but also measure how well it helps people make more sustainable food choices.”
The University of Reading will conduct a series of consumer tests to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bump Tag in:
1. Helping consumers make more sustainable food choices
2. Reducing overall food waste in households – helping consumers save money and reduce waste
3. Increasing consumer confidence in fresh food products
The collaboration is being viewed as an opportunity for a sustainable future with the 18-month project bringing together expertise from Mimica, ABP Food Group, and the University of Reading, to deliver meaningful sustainability and social impact benefits.
The research conducted at the University will play a pivotal role in understanding consumer behaviour and validating the effectiveness of the Bump Tag technology.
Dr Rachel McCloy said: “This project is a really good example of how committed we are to applying what we know from academic research to help solve real-world challenges. By working alongside innovative companies like Mimica, we can help develop solutions that support consumers in making choices that are good for the environment and their pocket.”
