Pork and chicken producer Cranswick is passionate about embedding sustainability in every business decision; that’s why it has partnered with redistribution organisation The Bread and Butter Thing to explore new ways of redistributing its ‘perfectly imperfect’ surplus gourmet products. From delicious sausage rolls to leftover chopped veg, Cranswick and the Bread and Butter Thing have forged a path to ensure quality surplus products provide healthy and nutritious meals for families in need of support. Read the case study below to find out more.
The pastry equivalent of wonky veg
The Bread and Butter Thing paid a visit to Cranswick’s Gourmet Pastry site to explore where there might be surpluses that could be put to good use. A walkthrough of the factory uncovered items that weren’t yet being redistributed, such as ‘overbakes’ – pastry and pie products that are either slightly too browned to go to the retail market, have seeped juices overflowing, or some cracking in the pastry. These products are all still delicious and edible – the pastry equivalent of wonky veg!
Sustainability baked into the business
The Cranswick team can be fast and agile when surpluses occur as they have sustainability baked into their business: following the factory walkaround on the Friday, pastries started arriving at The Bread and Butter Thing on the Monday. As a result, The Bread and Butter Thing members are now benefitting from a variety of fresh and frozen pork and chicken products such as sausage rolls and luxury meat pies, as well as surplus ingredients and chopped veg.
Much more than a simple distillation of figures
The collaboration has quickly developed into a dynamic and innovative partnership. Since the partnership started, Cranswick has supplied almost 85 tonnes of surplus to The Bread and Butter Thing across all its product lines. This equates to 200,000 meals worth of produce.
But the impact is about much more than a simple distillation of figures. Cranswick has been instrumental in allowing The Bread and Butter Thing’s members to access quality protein products that they wouldn’t normally be able to afford, which significantly enhances the diversity of their diet and the opportunity to create healthy nutritious meals for their families.
"We choose to work with The Bread and Butter Thing as a key redistribution partner for our edible surplus because its team is flexible, responsive and innovative in the way they approach surplus and they can take all kinds of products from ingredients through to finished goods. Cranswick has ambitious sustainability plans to have zero edible food waste by 2030 and The Bread and Butter Thing is helping us to deliver that whilst ensuring our surplus helps support families who need it." – Claire Burcham, Group Second Nature Coordinator, Cranswick
Find out more about the partnership
Justin Pritchard, Food Planner, [email protected]
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