Advancing Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Food Loss and Waste Reduction Project

Tops Supermarket, under Central Food Retail, has launched the "Food Hero, Taste not Waste" campaign to encourage consumers to rethink their perception of purchasing near-expiry products that remain safe and of good quality. The campaign offers a 30-50% discount on various food items and ingredients, such as bakery products, beverages, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat, ready-to-eat meals, and snacks.

These products are displayed in a designated discount zone to provide transparent information to consumers. Additionally, the "Smart Way" pilot project has been introduced, utilizing an Al-powered system to track products nearing their expiration date. This system enhances accuracy and efficiency in inventory management and order planning. These initiatives have successfully reduced food waste at the source by over 1,465,499 pieces while optimizing cost management related to surplus food. In 2025, these initiatives reduced food waste at the source by more than 8,477,415 pieces, equivalent to over 3,221 tonnes of food waste prevented, and helped save more than THB 324 million in costs associated with surplus food management.

Furthermore, the Company has delivered quality surplus food to underserved communities and vulnerable groups through collaboration with various organizations, including the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS), the Union of Superiors General of Thailand under the "Care and Share Food for All" project, the VV Share Foundation, the Mirror Foundation, and the Safe Haven Orphanage. In 2024, the project covered 9 provinces and 61 branches, delivering over 1.57 million kilograms of food or equivalent to 6.6 million meals to 3,000 communities, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3,983 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions.

In 2025, the initiative covered 9 provinces, namely Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, and Samut Sakhon. In collaboration with its partners, SOS and VV Share, surplus food was redistributed from 80 Tops stores, 11 Tops Daily stores, and Tops Online, covering a total of 91 stores and an online channel, to two foundations and more than 3,000 communities. Since the initiative began, a total of 2,039,925 kilograms of food has been redistributed, equivalent to more than 8.5 million meals.

In addition, GO Wholesale, under Central Retail, collaborated with the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS) to donate surplus food from Bangkok and Chiang Mai to vulnerable groups. In 2024, more than 50,264 meals were donated, helping to reduce the cost-of-living burden, strengthen food security, prevent more than 12 tonnes of food waste, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

In 2025, GO Wholesale expanded the initiative to seven stores, namely Chiang Mai, Rama 2, Rangsit, Charoen Rat, Phuket Rawai, Phuket City, and Khon Kaen. In collaboration with SOS and the Social Rehabilitation Center in Khon Kaen Province, surplus food that remained suitable for consumption was redistributed to vulnerable groups and individuals undergoing rehabilitation. The initiative donated more than 67 tonnes of surplus food, equivalent to more than 281,000 meals, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 169.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Surprise Bags Project

In retail, large amount of food that are close to the “best-before” date are unsold and will have to be discarded as food waste during the inventory management process, which can result in loss in revenue and inefficiency in resource management. To fix this problem, CRC has developed a data collection and monitoring system to track food that are close to “best-before” date to inform CRC and especially subsidiaries under CRC’s food business category on programs to utilize these food waste for alternative uses.

Therefore, Tops and Family Mart has packaged food waste that are still edible but are close to the “best-before” date into “Surprise Bags” to be sold via Yindii, who is Southeast Asia’s leading online food delivery application focusing on selling unsold but still safe and edible food. The Surprise Bags consisted of a selection of bakery, fruits, vegetables, ready-to-eat meals, and many other good quality fresh ingredients that are packed daily. Customers can buy the Surprise Bags at affordable prices (50% lower than the normal retail price) via the Yindii online application and pick them up throughout the various locations of Tops and Family Mart in Bangkok. This program allows CRC to not only reduce food waste by using them for alternative uses via a food rescue model, but also generate revenue and provide low-income customers and families with access to safe and healthy food. From February to May of 2023, CRC has sold 272 Surprise Bags and plan to expand this program to nationwide in the future. In 2024, a total of 264 Surprise Bags were sold, helping to prevent more than 500 kilograms of food waste. In 2025, a total of 1,024 Surprise Bags were sold, helping to prevent approximately 2,048 kilograms of food waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 4.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Partnership with Jaikla: Turning Food Wastes into Pet Treats Project

Driven by the objective to utilize food loss and waste for alternative uses, the Company partners with Jaikla, a startup company to turn food waste into pet treats. Food wastes, such as bakery products, vegetables, and fruits that are no longer edible by humans from ten Tops Supermarkets in Bangkok are assessed for quality and hygiene before transported to Jaikla to be used as feed for insects. The insects are then processed into insect-protein pet treats that are available for sale in the Tops Supermarket, Tops Food Hall, and online channels. In 2024, the project helped reduce food waste by up to 2,791 kilograms and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 6.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. In 2025, the project helped reduce food waste by up to 2,048 kilograms and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 4.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Food Waste Composting Machine Project

Central Retail has installed an on-site food waste composting machine at its distribution center to process food waste into organic compost. The machine can process an average of 15 kilograms of food waste per day and produce approximately 10 kilograms of compost per cycle, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. The compost produced is used to maintain green areas surrounding the distribution center, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and serving as a model for organic waste management that can be scaled to other locations in the future.

Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Food Waste Management Project

Tops collaborated with Central Tham and Betterfly to divert food waste from stores, shopping malls, and food courts into a circular economy process, transforming it into organic fertilizer and alternative animal feed. The initiative began in Sakon Nakhon in collaboration with a local community enterprise through the “BSF Food Court Model” and was expanded to 11 communities nationwide. Tops also established a “BSF Egg Bank” to build a sustainable network for Black Soldier Fly rearing and shared knowledge with local communities to strengthen their capacity for self-reliant organic waste management.

Building on this initiative, in 2025, Tops supported the research and development (R&D) of a Bioreactor for Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae cultivation to enhance the efficiency of food waste management at shopping malls. The pilot was launched at Central Nakhon Pathom and operated for two months from November to December 2025. The Bioreactor processed approximately 400 kilograms of food waste per week over a period of nine weeks, equivalent to approximately 3.6 tonnes of food waste diverted for beneficial use, and helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 8.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Samui Zero Waste Model Project

One program aimed to continuously reduce total volume of food loss & waste is the Samui Zero Waste Model that has been implemented since 2021. Koh Samui is a popular tourist destination located in Surat Thani province, and because of its geography as an island, CRC sees the large amount of food waste as a problem for the island. The program beings with waste segregation within CRC’s department stores on Koh Samui, in which employees collect and sort food wastes into 1) Edible waste to be processed into animal feed, and 2) Non-edible waste to be converted into compost and cooking gas for household uses. The program helped CRC reduced its total volume of food loss and waste within the Koh Samui area with plan to expand into other areas. In 2022, Samui Zero Waste Model helped reduce 41.7 tons of food waste and reduced of 105.51 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas emission.

An extension of the Samui Zero Waste Model, CRC has supported the local communities to establish the “Sustainable Samui Community Enterprise.” This helped local communities generate income from using the compost produced from the program to grow fruits and vegetables that can be sold within Tops supermarket. It has generated income for community enterprises totaling 233,437 baht.