According to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40 percent of the food consumed in the United States is thrown away each year. This amounts to $165 billion in food wasted each year. The amount of food wasted globally is lower but still alarmingly high. According to the United Nations, one-third of food is thrown out every year. Consumers are the worst culprits. According to Refed, an American nonprofit that aims to reduce food waste, Americans throw away 27 million tons of edible food each year, or 43% of the total amount of food wasted.
Sustainability is becoming mainstream. A host of new technologies are being introduced to the market that can help consumers reduce food waste. These products make it easier to track freshness and to use leftovers and produce before they spoil.
Silo’s new smart containers bring Alexa to the pantry. They monitor their contents and alert you when food is going bad. Silo CEO Tal Lapidot said, “Let’s be honest. Nobody remembers what was in the refrigerator two weeks ago.” Silo will manage your inventory and remember what you have in the fridge.
Silo takes inventory of your kitchen, tracking purchases and consumption, and sends you alerts if food is going bad. All this can be done via an app or Alexa voice control, transforming the kitchen into a smart hub. The containers are vacuum-sealed to prolong the shelf life of both dry goods and fresh produce. Lapido said that Silo’s technology gives everyone the information and tools they need to reduce food waste.
In the fall of 2018, the company turned to Kickstarter, reaching its goal of $80,000 within one day. They raised over $ 1.4 million to bring their product to life. Silo is currently available for preorder, with an estimated shipping date of fall 2019.
Ovie Smarterware, a line of smart storage for the kitchen, aims to “eliminate food waste, change how people shop, eat and save food, and eliminate food waste.” Ovie uses connected labels to track food freshness, alert users when food is about to spoil and link food to the Internet of Things. The system is visual, with tags that glow green, yellow, or red depending on the amount of time they will last.
Dave Joseph, the co-founder and director of product design, explained that SmartTags was designed to track food to notify users. Still, they also provide visual indicators for anyone in the home. The color-changing light ring made it easy for everyone in the family to know what food was important to eat right now.
The integrated voice control, Alexa or Google Home, allows users to press the tag while saying what they are storing simply. Ovie’s algorithms calculate the length of time the food can last and program it accordingly. The app that comes with the kit goes a step further and suggests recipes for food at risk of spoilage. Preorders are now available, and the kits will be shipped in Spring 2019.
JWT Intelligence’s SONAR (tm) study shows that 79% of consumers are more aware of their impact on the environment, and 92% are trying to live sustainably. Products that simplify daily life and reduce waste are in high demand as consumers become more aware of their impact on the environment. Ty Thompson, Ovie’s CEO and co-founder, said that people don’t want all this food to be wasted. It just happens. “We wanted to solve this problem through a product which was easy to use and would bring a more conscious approach to food storage.”
