Flashfood Users Now Have the Opportunity to Save on Groceries at Local Stores as Well as Major Chains

Flashfood, the app known for offering discounts on food nearing its sell-by date, made an announcement on Tuesday that it has opened its platform to include independently operated grocery outlets, thus widening the reach for consumers to access affordably priced groceries.

The inclusion of smaller and independent grocery stores marks a significant development for the firm, as these outlets are vital to both rural and urban communities, especially those with lower-income families. Amid escalating food prices, obtaining fresh produce becomes a challenge for many; hence, Flashfood’s initiative aims to alleviate this burden. The company claims to have facilitated grocery savings of approximately $280 million for its users, as stated on its website.

Since its inception in 2016, Flashfood has predominantly collaborated with larger grocery chains such as Giant Eagle, Meijer, Piggly Wiggly, and Stop & Shop. The platform has recently extended its network to include over ten independent retailers across the United States and Canada, including Green Top Grocery in Bloomington, Illinois; Country Squire Foods in Chicago Heights, Illinois; Supermercado Mexico in Wyoming, Michigan; Samir Supermarket in Burlington, Ontario; among others.

There are plans underway to integrate more than 100 independent grocery stores into its platform by the year’s end.

Alongside enabling consumers to economize, this expansion is poised to support local merchants by curtailing food waste—a pressing concern in the U.S. Feeding America, a nonprofit entity, reports that the U.S. discards about 92 billion pounds of food annually. Flashfood, in its 2023 impact report, states it has averted 37 million pounds of food from ending up in landfills in just that year, summing up to a total prevention of over 100 million pounds of food waste since the service’s launch.

Flashfood’s app facilitates the inclusion of inventory by independent grocers, leveraging their existing inventory systems or through manual entries by the store proprietors. The application intelligently identifies and promotes goods nearing their sell-by date, notifying shoppers of the latest discounts. This initiative not only prevents potential food waste but also offers customers up to 50% off on purchases, benefitting the retailers’ revenue.

“The retail environment is increasingly tough, especially for independent grocers facing distinctive challenges as small business entities,” stated Flashfood CEO Nicholas Bertram. “Our aim with this introduction is to extend a supportive hand to these retailers, many of whom are addressing the issue of food accessibility in densely populated or remote areas. We are hopeful that this solution will attract more patrons to their stores and enhance their profitability.”

Moreover, the company is exploring opportunities for international expansion to combat global food waste, as revealed by Bertram to TechCrunch.

To this point, Flashfood boasts over 4.5 million downloads of its app and secured $12.3 million in a Series A funding round in 2022.

Update as of 7/23/24, 10:05 a.m. ET: A correction has been made to the list of supermarket chains associated with Flashfood. Price Rite Marketplace and Save A Lot have been removed from the Flashfood roster.