Innovative App "Gander" Designed to Save on Groceries and Reduce Food Waste Launches in Australia

Designed to help Aussies save money at the supermarket and combat food wastage, Gander is an Aussie-first app, launching nationally today.

Built to address the pressing issues of food waste, the rising cost of living and pressures on household budgets, Gander is an innovative mobile app set to revolutionise the way Australians shop for groceries. 

The world’s first and real-time mobile app, Gander presents an inventive solution that connects shoppers with discounted food items nearing their expiration dates, providing substantial savings while significantly reducing food waste in supermarkets and grocery stores. 

For the first time in Australia, local consumers will have the ability to check what’s on sale in their local supermarkets and actively reduce waste within their community.

Gander has partnered with Spano’s IGA and Country Grocers to bring this sustainable solution to life in stores in Queensland and Victoria, with these supermarket groups becoming the first retailers in the country to embrace Gander's technology and spearhead the movement towards a net-zero independent retail sector, in line with the Government’s goal to halve food waste by 2030.

“Typically, retailers have to rely on shoppers sporadically finding a markdown in store while preoccupied with their shopping. Therefore, on average, less than half of the food marked-down in stores is sold, leaving the rest to become surplus,” said Tim Brown, one of the founders of Gander Australia. 

“For retailers, reduced food can cost them up to 7% of their turnover.  At a time when margins are being squeezed, this is revenue sitting on their shelves that local shoppers would love to buy, they just don’t know it is there.” 

Via a one-time integration with the retailer’s Point-of-Sale system, Gander showcases a live and accurate feed of what’s available in store on the app. 

As soon as a product is stickered in store with a new markdown label, it appears on the Gander app for consumers to browse through and search for.  Similarly, when that item is sold or no longer available it is automatically removed from the app, providing shoppers with an instant feed of all markdowns on the shelves at any time.

“Gander puts this information in the hands of significantly more motivated shoppers, which in turn will increase footfall and sales of reduced product, growing revenue otherwise lost to waste.”

“According to recent analysis conducted by UBS, the average Australian grocery bill increased year on year by 9.6%. Gander will provide Australians with access to quality food, ready to be consumed or frozen for a later date, discounted up to 75% in order to save money, whilst allowing them to feel they are positively addressing the problem of food wastage. A win, win.”

Currently, retailers rely on shoppers sporadically finding markdowns in store, resulting in over half of this food going to waste. 

With Gander, this food is automatically showcased to local residents and commuters, motivating them to nip in and bag a bargain, not only enabling significant savings on groceries but also supporting retailers in their efforts to reduce food waste and minimise their carbon footprint.

Each year, the Australian retail sector contributes approximately 286,000 tonnes of food waste to landfill. As this waste decomposes, it releases methane –a greenhouse gas that is even more potent than carbon dioxide. 

Holistically, food waste accounts for 3% of Australia's annual greenhouse gas emissions thus feeding climate change, while one-third of Australian households face food insecurity.

Having first launched in the UK in 2019, Gander has already proved a success in over 500 stores in the UK, saving 25 million food items from becoming waste in store and is now committed to addressing Australia’s food waste problem and alleviating pressure on households due to rising living costs.

Leading Point-of-Sale providers, World Smart POS Systems, Independent Solutions, and EDGEPoS, have announced the availability of the innovative Gander app to retailers and additional integrations are underway, extending the reach of this groundbreaking initiative across the country.

The Gander app is available for download on iOS and Android devices.

For more information, visit www.ganderapp.com.au