News Observation： Continuously standardize food takeaway marketing behavior to prevent food waste
The State Administration for Market Regulation once again mentions preventing food waste
When ordering takeout, many people will order extra things they don’t need in order to make up the "minimum delivery price" or "price-break discounts", such as ordering an extra rice for a minimum delivery of two dollars, which has invisibly caused a lot of food waste. In order to change this phenomenon, following the introduction of the "Guiding Opinions on Preventing Takeaway Food Waste" last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation recently issued a relevant notice again, requiring that we continue to pay attention to the marketing norms of takeaway merchants and prevent food waste. So, it has been nearly a year since the "Guiding Opinions" were issued. What is the effect? Why did the State Administration for Market Regulation issue another notice to re-mention "preventing food waste"? Check out the report.
The takeaway platform has launched a small meal area, and some merchants have set up single-person packages.
In June last year, after the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Giving Play to the Leading Role of Online Catering Platforms to Effectively Prevent Takeaway Food Waste", law enforcement departments in some places began to take law enforcement actions against food waste, including "setting the minimum delivery price for takeout". The State Administration for Market Regulation also deployed a three-month special project to stop food waste across the country, promoting Meituan, Ele.me and other platforms to take full-process "appropriate order" reminders, refine meal weight descriptions, and optimize price-break discounts. Since the launch of the special project operation, Meituan and Ele.me takeaway platforms have launched a small meal area, and the cumulative sales of small meals 1.20 billion more; Meituan has also collected orders through salted duck eggs, small packets of mustard, etc. instead of rice price-break discounts.
The reporter’s investigation found that many businesses have set up small dishes or single-person packages in their takeaway menus, allowing consumers to enjoy a variety of delicacies while avoiding waste.
The person in charge of a hot pot restaurant: We are now delivering single meals, and our family does not have a delivery fee. After adding the delivery fee, the average consumption per person is about fourteen or five yuan. I think this is a normal range.
The person in charge of a restaurant, Nong Weijun: We have launched some small portions of food for customers, so that customers can taste more different products. Because the portions are too large, customers can only eat one or two servings. If we introduce small portions, customers can eat three to four servings, and the price is more reasonable.
Consumer: You can directly help me match the amount I need, and the cost performance is relatively high. One person can eat it without wasting it.
The starting price is still common. Merchants: There is no profit without setting the starting price.
However, the reporter saw on many commonly used takeaway platforms that most milk tea beverage merchants still set a starting price of about 20 yuan, while a single cup of drinks usually does not exceed 20 yuan, which means that consumers must place an order with other things to be delivered. And some Chinese food and fast food merchants also set a starting price of 15 to 20 yuan. Many consumers said that when ordering takeout, they often have to order more food to collect orders, which not only costs more money, but also wastes food.
Consumer: For example, if you buy a drink, you have to add other (goods), but you can’t finish it, it’s wasted.
So, why do these takeaway merchants have to set the starting price? Some merchants said that setting the starting price is mainly related to cost.
The person in charge of a restaurant: The starting price of 20 yuan is set by ourselves. If the platform draws various points, it may be calculated. If it is not set to 20 yuan, we will have no profit after drawing, and it is posted.
In this regard, some consumers said that when ordering food by one person, it is often blocked by the "threshold" of delivery. It is recommended that merchants set a certain delivery fee for single-person meals, rather than simply using the starting price to reject consumers, or forcing consumers to collect orders.
The State Administration for Market Regulation once again mentions preventing food waste
I’m sure many people, like me, don’t feel any difference when they order takeout. It can also be seen from the news that there is still a long way to go to reduce the waste of takeout food. So, compared with the "Guiding Opinions", what are the similarities and differences of this notice? Can it play a bigger role? Let’s take a look.
Compact the main responsibility and continue to standardize the marketing behavior of platform merchants
The State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice this time, requiring all localities to urge online catering platforms and catering takeaway merchants to further consolidate their main responsibilities, continue to standardize catering takeaway marketing behaviors, and effectively prevent catering waste.
In terms of implementing the main responsibility of online catering platforms, the "Notice" requires that platforms be urged to optimize marketing rules and agreement rules, and to publish appropriate ordering prompts in prominent positions on the page; encourage platforms to improve incentive mechanisms, promote merchants to develop, provide, and promote small meals, set the minimum price of meals reasonably, optimize the price-break discounts collection mechanism, and do not include staple foods in the scope of price-break discounts display; guide the platform to embed standards related to food and beverage waste into all aspects of platform operation and management.
In terms of compacting the main responsibility of food and beverage takeaway merchants, the "Notice" makes it clear that merchants should strengthen dynamic management to prevent food and beverage waste; guide merchants to reasonably determine the quantity and weight, provide small portions of meals, truthfully display meal information, and publish appropriate ordering tips; supervise merchants to standardize marketing behavior, reasonably determine the minimum delivery price, and shall not induce or mislead consumers to order more than enough food; encourage the use of food safety seals to reduce food and beverage waste caused by pollution and damage during distribution.
Improve the standard system and raise the standard level of preventing food waste
The "Notice" also emphasizes that all localities should promote the revision and improvement of standards, smooth the development of green channels for standards, prioritize the establishment of standards related to the prevention of catering waste, and study and formulate standards for conferences and travel group meals. At the same time, increase the publicity and implementation of standards, strengthen the supervision of standard implementation, and urge platforms and merchants to implement standard requirements in the aspects of rule formulation, information description, meal production, takeaway distribution, and service management.
Strengthen supervision and law enforcement, and urge the rectification of food waste
In addition, the "Notice" calls for strengthening supervision and law enforcement, and urging the rectification of the problem of takeaway catering waste. Strengthening the daily inspection of platform merchants will prevent catering waste and carry out food safety supervision and inspection at the same time, carry out "look back" in a timely manner, and continue to carry out "random restaurant inspection" actions. Conduct random tests on merchants’ implementation of the food waste prevention system, punish catering waste violations, and implement the "simple case and quick handling" model of catering waste. Those who cause obvious waste, serious waste and refuse to correct will be severely punished according to law. Unblock the 12315 complaint and reporting channels, give full play to the role of the "internal whistleblower" of enterprises, publicly expose typical cases of catering waste, and strengthen warning, education and deterrence.
News Observation: Continuously standardize food takeaway marketing behavior to prevent food waste
Hello Mr. Gao, what are your observations on the phenomenon of takeaway meal waste?
Continuously standardize food takeaway marketing behavior to prevent food waste
Let me tell you an example from my side. A friend of mine who wants to keep in shape recently became obsessed with the chicken breast soba noodle set menu launched by a light food restaurant. No matter the taste, price, or the most important calorie, she is very satisfied, but the price of this set menu is 2.5 yuan different from the price-break discounts threshold in the store. Every time in order to get the best price, she has to buy an additional set of "Dafu", which is the closest price but never eats. This "Dafu" is a glutinous rice pastry with high calories. Most of the light food audience will not take the initiative to buy it, but my friend found that the monthly sales of "Dafu" in this restaurant are thousands. I believe that there are many people who are as helpless as her to collect orders. After all, the price of the next mashed potato suitable for collecting orders is more than double. Therefore, the various activities launched by takeaway platform merchants such as minimum delivery thresholds, price-break discounts discounts, and takeaway red envelopes are intended to make consumers "save money the more they make orders", and various activities have also invisibly exacerbated food waste. There are two reasons. On the one hand, some consumers order takeaway with early adopters, curiosity and other psychology. Once the food is quite different from expectations, they will turn to other food orders. On the other hand, when consumers order food online, they often lack intuitive feelings about the amount of food, etc., coupled with various price-break discounts promotion methods, they often induce consumers to order too much, resulting in food waste. Preventing takeaway food waste is an important part of curbing food waste. Article 10 of the Anti-Food Waste Law, which came into effect in April 2021, clearly stipulates that food delivery platforms shall prompt consumers to order in moderation in a prominent manner. If food service operators provide services through food delivery platforms, they shall provide consumers with information such as food weight, specifications or recommended number of consumers on the platform page. However, the Anti-Food Waste Law at that time stipulated food delivery platforms, but the content was relatively general and lacked implementation details. Therefore, the regulations issued this time are a strong implementation and specific extension of the Anti-Food Waste Law, which refines the relatively abstract provisions in the Anti-Food Waste Law, and clearly informs food delivery platforms and merchants how to implement them. While delineating behavioral standards, it also provides regulatory basis for regulatory authorities, which plays an important role in implementing the Anti-Food Waste Law and curbing "waste at your fingertips".
Avoiding "food waste at your fingertips" still requires a concerted effort
Compared with last year’s "Guiding Opinions" and this "Notice", it can be seen that the requirements on the main responsibility of platforms and merchants in the "Notice" basically continue the content of last year’s "Guiding Opinions". The biggest difference is that this "Notice" has added a lot of content on improving the standard system and strengthening supervision and law enforcement. What do you think of this?
In June last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce issued guidelines on preventing the waste of takeaway food, and many of the contents of this notice were also mentioned at that time. In less than a year, some merchants and platforms have indeed made improvements, but the overall effect is not very obvious, so this is likely to be the reason why the General Administration issued this notice again. What we want is that the policy has a more obvious superposition effect, a more effective solution to problems, and a better coverage in the process of implementation. For example, in the area of marketing and promotion, online catering platforms should scientifically set the minimum delivery price and price-break discounts promotion rules, and explore how to guide merchants on the platform to set the minimum delivery price reasonably according to the different business scale, food grade, and ordering distance of merchants. We propose to optimize the price-break discounts collection mechanism and not include staple foods in the scope of price-break discounts display, in order to minimize food waste. Many consumers complain that setting a minimum delivery quota for takeout leads to having to order more. Setting a minimum delivery quota is often regarded as a mandatory minimum consumption behavior, and it cannot be generalized whether such behavior violates the rights and interests of consumers. For merchants who explicitly charge delivery fees, setting a minimum delivery quota is obviously unreasonable. The platform side cannot let this go. It needs to impose reasonable restrictions on merchants, so that consumers can consume moderately and order reasonably. What we want is to set up marketing activities reasonably, which is not inconsistent with reducing the waste of takeout catering. More importantly, platforms and merchants should popularize small portions as much as possible and accurately label the amount of finished food. In the Internet age, big data can play a greater role in Internet takeaway catering. On the basis of user authorization and consent, takeaway platforms can give reasonable meal recommendations and meal matching according to users’ daily preferences, order sizes and scientific dietary standards. Encouraging consumers to participate in food conservation through technology is also one of the ways that technology can change lives. Overall, online catering platforms should do a good job in promoting policies and regulations to prevent takeaway food waste, encourage the use of takeaway delivery vehicles, takeaway packaging bags, food safety seals, ordering documents, and other carriers, print anti-food waste slogans, expand the coverage of publicity, and help the whole society to form a good fashion of saving.