Electrolux, Karma pilot looks to reduce food waste
Electrolux and Karma have announced the beta launch of a smart refrigerator for grocery stores.
The aim is to create storage and a pickup point for unsold food that otherwise would be thrown away, as well as enabling grocery retailers that don’t have a natural pickup location to use Karma. The smart refrigerator will be available at ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen in Stockholm, Sweden until 31st December.
“For Electrolux, the partnership with a startup like Karma is a new and powerful way of driving positive change. By combining ours and Karma’s unique qualifications, we have been able to create an innovative solution that makes it easier for consumers and food suppliers to save food from ending up in landfill,” says Tove Chevalley, Head of Digital Innovation at Electrolux, which invested in Karma earlier this year.
“The partnership has allowed our initial idea of reducing food waste to gather speed and our company to grow, while also adding the knowledge and experience of an established business, which we as a startup are still in the process of acquiring. The fridge is the first step in our common effort to rescue more food from landfill and to protect the environment,” comments Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, CEO and Co-founder of Karma.
How it works:
A Karma user making a purchase at the ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen store through the venture’s app can collect it from the refrigerator.
The user unlocks the refrigerator, which is equipped with a smart lock, by displaying a QR code.
The purchased product can then be shown by the user at the checkout.