Retail technology firm and food waste prevention specialist Gander launches in Australia with SPAR

Gander is laying claim to a major milestone in its journey towards reducing food waste and fostering sustainability within Australia's grocery retail industry.

Since making its debut in Australia in July 2023, the SaaS company has launched with independently owned SPAR Chevron in the Gold Coast.

Operated by Managing Director Nash Attwal, it is the first store within the SPAR Australia network to partner with Gander.

In 2021, SPAR International, the world’s largest food retail voluntary chain with over 13,900 stores in 48 countries, embarked on a global partnership with Gander to provide its worldwide network with the tools to tackle food waste head on.

After a tie up in Northern Ireland with the Henderson Group, Gander has continued to expand out into the wider UK market. The milestone in Australia sets the stage for wider implementation across all SPAR markets.

Damien Corcoran, Chief Operating Officer, at Gander, says: “Our launch in Australia with SPAR Chevron highlights our continued commitment to combating food waste on a global scale.”

“By using our digital solution in food waste reduction, we are delighted to have the opportunity to provide Australian shoppers with the availability of marked down products in stores for the first time.”

“Gander offers retailers a real-time automated mobile platform to help sell more of their reduce to clear items by creating greater visibility of discounted products and offering shoppers more value.”

“The Gander platform enables retailers to automatically display to shoppers, in real-time, all markdowns available in store. Participating retailers allow customers to make real savings and reduce food waste in their local community by purchasing the price reduced products available each day.”

Leveraging Gander's real-time automated mobile platform, SPAR Chevron ensures that discounted, near expiry products are visible to shoppers, with the aim of reducing food waste while offering customers greater value.

Attwal says:: “I'm excited to bring Gander to our community. With food prices on the rise and growing concern for our environment, Gander offers more than just savings – it’s an opportunity for shoppers to take control of their grocery expenses while we, as retailers, address food waste and financial challenges.”

“Together, we will make a real impact, one markdown at a time."

Gander's platform connects with retailers' Point of Sale (PoS) systems with a real-time, one way feed that updates shoppers on markdowns, including products that are created, sold, or marked as waste in-store.

Once retailers connect their systems with the platform, all discounted products are automatically displayed to shoppers in real-time, eliminating the need for additional efforts from store teams.

Gander is also working across the independent sector in Australia with Metcash, Australian United Retailers, and the IGA, FoodWorks, SPAR and other independents (Country Grocers) brands.

Corcoran says: “We are very excited about what we can achieve in Australia. Our ambition is to prevent food on retailers’ shelves from becoming waste across the nation. It will give millions of people in the country the benefit of being able to purchase great quality food at a discounted price.

“Our objective is to aid the Australian government's National Food Waste Strategy, which aims to achieve a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.”

Gander has integrated with several PoS providers in the UK and Australia, including WorldSmart, Independent Solutions, EDGEPoS and GPK.