Page 7 - Food&Drink Magazine Aug-Sep 2021

Suez, Yume
fight food waste
WASTE management company Suez has taken a 20 per cent equity stake in social enterprise Yume as the two companies strengthen their commitment to eradicate food waste and deliver a circular economy.
Suez CEO Mark Venhoek said the partnership began in 2019 and taking a formal equity stake was the logical next step.
“It makes perfect business sense for us to support an organisation that shares that ethos, challenging the way we look at surplus food and diverting it from landfill. We are a global brand with global exposure, and we can take Yume to the next level,” Venhoek said.
Since Yume was founded in 2016, it has prevented nearly three million kilograms of quality surplus food becoming waste, and returned more than $8.4 million to growers, manufacturers, and businesses.
Founder and CEO Katy Barfield said, “Suez really walks the walk. When we were looking for partners in 2018, they already had landfill diversion managers on team. No one else had that.”
Suez taking a stake in the company means it can double down on its FMCG strategy, Barfield said. “No one has invested money into streamlining the end-to-end clearance process plug in, so that is what we’re doing. We want to manage it from surplus right through to sale or donation. COVID-19 showed us we needed to be integrated into their systems,”shesaid. ✷
Food & Drink , 153 x 237 mm, CC-en46-AZ439 07/21
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