Every year, over one billion tons of food that is actually still suitable for consumption ends up in residual waste worldwide. Preventing food waste is a key guiding principle of our joint circular economy strategy REset Resources. The companies of Schwarz Group, together with our customers, are both reducing the use of and preventing the wastage of resources. One measure that Lidl and Kaufland are using to achieve this goal is the “rescue bag”.

Combating Food Waste Together

With the rescue bag, fruit and vegetables products that do not look perfect but are still perfectly edible are given a second chance. At Lidl and Kaufland in Germany, customers receive up to five kilos of rescued goods at a reduced price of three euros. The bag has proven to be an effective means of combating food waste: Lidl introduced the rescue bag in 2022 and is now using it in a total of 24 countries – the concept is also in the pilot phase in other national companies. At Kaufland, the rescue bag has been available in all stores in Germany since May 2025. The aim is to incentivize customers to buy these products by offering them for sale at a reduced price and thus reduce food waste. The success is measurable: To date, more than 124,000 tons of fruit and vegetables have been saved thanks to the rescue bag in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 alone.

Lidl and Kaufland are going one step further with the “Rette mich” (Rescue Me) and “Ich bin noch gut” (I’m Still Good) initiatives. Perfectly good items from various product groups in the self-service area are labeled with this message and offered at a significant discount when they are approaching their best-before or use-by date. This measure is also helping to reduce food waste.

Partnerships with Charitable Organizations

As an additional measure, 20 cents per rescue bag sold is donated to the Tafel charitable food banks in Germany. In the 2024 fiscal year, Lidl and Kaufland collected donations worth a total of 1.3 million euros, including regular food donations. There is also a cooperation with the “foodsharing” initiative at over 80 Kaufland locations to make leftover food available for collection.

Our holistic circular economy strategy REset Resources pursues a clear goal in the REduce action area: 50 percent less food waste in the companies of Schwarz Group by the end of 2030 (compared to 2018). To achieve this, we are taking action across the entire value chain. Our catalog of measures ranges from process optimization in food production and demand-based ordering in retail to the optimized transportation of goods and targeted initiatives in our stores. For we believe that food belongs in the bag, not the bin.