At Orderly, we pride ourselves on the strength of our client relationships. And just as our clients push us to be better, innovate, and develop new solutions, we like to do the same for them. And sometimes that means asking difficult questions.

A report by UK based organisation WRAP discovered the following attribution for food waste in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry:

With the UK’s food waste costing the QSR sector an estimated £277m annually, this means the industry is scraping roughly £94m off customers’ plates each year.

Food preparation and spoilage can be managed and reduced using our Order Management and Inventory Management software solutions*, but customer plate waste needs a commitment from you.

Patterns occurring

It’s no secret that over the last 20 years, fast food has (in general) become:

• Larger in portion sizes
• Higher in sodium
• Higher in calorie content

In this time, the percentage of obese adults has also increased.

While this can’t only be explained by the increase in calories in fast food, there appears to be a link.

So, given the duality of the problems which it contributes to, can QSR businesses be open and honest about potentially reducing portion sizes, going against a trend that has seen them increase for the last 50 years?

People often eat subconsciously, and aren’t always aware of the quantity they’re eating due to factors such as plate size and phenomena like the size-contrast illusion and Delboeuf Illusion.

Here is the Delboeuf Illusion in effect, demonstrating how two identical circles can appear to be different sizes. In our conversation, these can represent plates and portions of food.

But It’s not just the health element, it’s the carbon footprint caused by the waste.

Is it wrong to suggest that people should be served less because of the data at hand? Is it empowering to give them more choice around portion sizes? Can environmental efficiencies be found in this, or will it cause increased emissions/carbon footprint per unit of food sold?

Who can be brave and lead this difficult conversation?

This is not only an opportunity to improve commitment to the circular economy, it’s an opportunity to create a whole new customer base with a different type of relationship.

Brands in other sectors, like Patagonia have spoken out, encouraging people to shop differently (in this case, don’t buy more, recycle/reuse) in the face of fast fashion (see their powerful Black Friday messaging from 2011). Through taking this stance, they’ve gradually earned a great deal of brand loyalty, as well as laying down the gauntlet for other brands to adopt a more conscious attitude.

And with grocery brands like Quorn and Just Salad are starting to take initiatives like carbon labelling, it’s time for the QSR industry to start doing more.

Commitment to sustainability is going to be a race, of sorts. Are you going to win?