Radial teams up with Foodello to fight food waste

Radial, specialist in B2C fulfillment and part of bpostgroup, has teamed up with Foodello, a Finnish market leader in the fight against food waste. It is the first time Radial has signed a fulfillment contract with an online supermarket. All Foodello online orders will be processed through Radial’s fulfillment center in Groningen.

More than 58 million tons of food (131 kg per inhabitant) go to waste every year across the EU (Eurostat, 2023), with an estimated market value of 132 billion euros (SWD (2023)421). Foodello reduces food waste by buying in surplus food from producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers, and selling it on an online platform at a considerable discount. This model has already enabled Foodello to save more than 16 million kilograms of food from the waste heap. Radial will provide a suite of logistics services to Foodello, including storage, order picking and packing, returns, value-added services (VAS) and last-mile delivery from its state-of-the-art eco-friendly warehouse in Groningen, the Netherlands.

A symbolic moment: the first Foodello order in Groningen is packed.

Dries de Love, Executive Vice President Europe, Radial: “We offer Foodello personalized fulfillment to be able to handle the increase in orders. We will also improve their customer experience and support their continued growth. It’s an honour to have been chosen by them. They trust our transparent, constructive approach. They also have faith in our cutting-edge technology, which combines efficiency and sustainability. This will also inspire other online supermarkets to choose Radial.”

Juhani Järvensivu, co-founder and CEO of Foodello: “We are expanding fast in Western Europe, especially the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland at the present time. We needed an e-commerce fulfillment expert that shares our values and is able to support our growth with a solution that is scalable, innovative, cost-effective and sustainable. Radial ticked all those boxes.”

Bike couriers

Radial will work with sustainable partners for last-mile (home) delivery. A major partner, bpost, is investing heavily in an eco-friendly fleet, including 1000 electric vans, LPG trucks, double-deck trucks and e-bikes with and without trailer. Radial also works with other local carriers, including bike couriers

Radial Groningen: where it’s all about the environment

Sustainability and the fight against food waste is at the heart of Foodello’s mission. That’s why Radial’s environmentally friendly warehouse in Groningen is an extra plus. This gas-free facility is equipped with solar panels to generate renewable power, low-energy lighting and smart heating. Waste and water management are practised on a large scale. It fulfils the BREEAM-NL environmental standard with a Very Good rating. The wide-scale use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and the strategic transport connections to the United States also make Groningen the ideal distribution hub in our Radial network spanning Belgium, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland.
 
The Groningen warehouse in numbers:
• 26,000 square metres
• 150 employees, 200 on peak days
• 299 robots
• 100 solar panels with future capacity of 2.4 MW

Solar panels and many other assets make Radial Groningen a sustainable warehouse.

About Radial
Radial, part of bpostgroup, is a global B2C e-commerce fulfillment solutions expert. Leading brands around the world have worked with Radial for more than 30 years to deliver their brand promise, capitalize on market trends and compete on an evolving market. In Europe Radial markets a wide array of fulfillment services alongside transport management. Radial’s extensive fulfillment center network in the United States, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland offers state-of-the-art automation and robotics solutions, as well as warehouse management, flexible transport services and cutting-edge omnichannel technologies that help clients meet higher and higher consumer expectations and strengthen their competitive position. As part of bpostgroup, Radial combines strength and stability with a devotion to investments, its clients and delivering sustainable solutions.
Read more about how Radial is shaping retail at www.radial.com and on Radial Europe’s LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/radial-europe/.

Radial Contact
Joanna Stankiewicz
marketingeurope@radial.com

About Foodello
Foodello, which goes by the name Fiksuruoka in its homeland, is a Finnish e-retailer market leader that reduces food waste by marketing surplus dry groceries and non-food products to consumers at attractive discounts. Foodello is committed to offering an attractive platform to customers and suppliers with the aim of minimizing food waste. As a technology- and data-driven business, Foodello uses data analysis to steer purchasing, pricing and digital marketing, and improve and develop its e-commerce services. Foodello helps drive the online food shopping trend and is an environmentally friendly solution in the quest to reduce carbon emissions. Read more about Foodello at www.foodello.com.