The causes of food waste in a quick service restaurant supply chain : a South African exploratory case study

Abstract

The total cost of food waste across the value chain in South Africa is estimated at R61.5billion per annum, equivalent to 2.1% of gross domestic product (Nahman and de Lange, 2013). Consequently, a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, equivalent to about 1.3 billion tonnes per year (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2011). Food waste is composed of raw or cooked food materials and includes food waste before, during and after meal preparation in the household, as well as food losses in the manufacturing, distribution, retail and food services activities (European Commission, 2010). Oelofse and Nahman (2013) noted that attempts to quantify the actual amount of food waste globally are constrained by limited data, particularly from developing countries. The gaps in the existing literature for data on food waste, particularly in the quick service restaurant sector, created an interest to unravel the causes of food waste in the South African supply chain. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of processes associated with supply chain activities on food waste in the quick service restaurant supply chain in South Africa. The present research undertakes a qualitative exploratory case study design. The company under study in the current research is a quick service restaurant brand owner with operations ranging from manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and franchised quick service restaurant outlets. The company has been chosen for the reason that it owns the highest number of quick service restaurants in South Africa. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with company managers to gather insights and perspectives on food waste. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using QDA Miner 4 to systematically code the data to identify themes and patterns. The resultant analysis identified six main factors that influence food waste in a quick service restaurant supply chain, namely, raw material, manufacturing process, cold chain maintenance, stock management, machinery and training. A conceptual model, based on the results from the current study, proposes the use of technology as a mediating variable in ascertaining the relationship of each of the causes to food waste. The present study makes a contribution to theory by addressing the gap in literature on data from developing countries by providing data from a sub-Saharan context. Further to this, the present study highlights the factors causing food waste and the linkages between them with the use of a current reality tree. The findings provide managers with an understanding of strategies that can be employed to reduce food waste such as, investment in equipment and machinery. Further to this, the present study recommends the use of real demand and waste data in sustainability reporting to foster stakeholder engagement and customer goodwill. Lastly, from a green marketing perspective, the present study recommends that the company develops consumer marketing messages centred on ‘green’ products to enable the creation of a competitive advantage with the benefits of increased market share and revenue.