IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i18p5101-d268254.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Making Food Rescue Your Business: Case Studies in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Regina Sedlmeier

    (Chair of Economics of Horticulture and Landscaping, School of Management and School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 16, 85354 Freising, Germany)

  • Meike Rombach

    (Department of Land Management and Systems, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 85084, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand)

  • Vera Bitsch

    (Chair of Economics of Horticulture and Landscaping, School of Management and School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 16, 85354 Freising, Germany)

Abstract

Initiatives of the European Union in the context of food waste running governmental and nonprofit campaigns strive to reach waste reduction goals. The study investigated entrepreneurial business models in the arena of food waste in Germany with a multiple case study research approach. Business entrepreneurs seek to reduce waste through its monetarization. After the initial identification of close to all current entrepreneurial businesses, ten entrepreneurs in retail, processing, and food service were interviewed to determine barriers and challenges to the models’ success and analyze their motivation to start these businesses. The most important barriers constituted logistical problems regarding supply as well as marketing; and the need for close collaboration with suppliers constituted another important challenge. Their motivations combine sustainability-oriented goals with a profit goal. To scale up, an increase in collaboration and data exchange is needed across the supply chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Regina Sedlmeier & Meike Rombach & Vera Bitsch, 2019. "Making Food Rescue Your Business: Case Studies in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:18:p:5101-:d:268254
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/18/5101/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/18/5101/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane L. Midgley, 2014. "The logics of surplus food redistribution," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(12), pages 1872-1892, December.
    2. Michelini, Laura & Principato, Ludovica & Iasevoli, Gennaro, 2018. "Understanding Food Sharing Models to Tackle Sustainability Challenges," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 205-217.
    3. Juliane Jörissen & Carmen Priefer & Klaus-Rainer Bräutigam, 2015. "Food Waste Generation at Household Level: Results of a Survey among Employees of Two European Research Centers in Italy and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-21, March.
    4. Bitsch, Vera, 2005. "Qualitative Research: A Grounded Theory Example and Evaluation Criteria," Journal of Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia, vol. 23(1), pages 1-17.
    5. Albert Jolink & Eva Niesten, 2015. "Sustainable Development and Business Models of Entrepreneurs in the Organic Food Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 386-401, September.
    6. Mugera, Amin W. & Bitsch, Vera, 2005. "Managing Labor on Dairy Farms: A Resource-Based Perspective with Evidence from Case Studies," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 8(3), pages 1-20.
    7. Christine Göbel & Nina Langen & Antonia Blumenthal & Petra Teitscheid & Guido Ritter, 2015. "Cutting Food Waste through Cooperation along the Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Johanna F. Gollnhofer & Katharina Hellwig & Felicitas Morhart, 2016. "Fair Is Good, but What Is Fair? Negotiations of Distributive Justice in an Emerging Nonmonetary Sharing Model," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(2), pages 226-245.
    9. Sterns, James A. & Schweikhardt, David B. & Peterson, H. Christopher, 1998. "Using Case Studies As An Approach For Conducting Agribusiness Research," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 1(3), pages 1-17.
    10. Michael Blanke, 2015. "Challenges of Reducing Fresh Produce Waste in Europe—From Farm to Fork," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-11, June.
    11. Secondi, Luca & Principato, Ludovica & Laureti, Tiziana, 2015. "Household food waste behaviour in EU-27 countries: A multilevel analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 25-40.
    12. Rombach, Meike & Bitsch, Vera, 2018. "Sector blending: evidence from the German Food Bank," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 21(2), March.
    13. Rombach, Meike & Bitsch, Vera, 2015. "Food Movements in Germany: Slow Food, Food Sharing, and Dumpster Diving," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-24, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariarosaria Lombardi & Marco Costantino, 2020. "A Social Innovation Model for Reducing Food Waste: The Case Study of an Italian Non-Profit Organization," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Mariarosaria Lombardi & Marco Costantino, 2021. "A Hierarchical Pyramid for Food Waste Based on a Social Innovation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    3. Sabrina Rondeau & Sara M. Stricker & Chantel Kozachenko & Kate Parizeau, 2020. "Understanding Motivations for Volunteering in Food Insecurity and Food Upcycling Projects," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Kevin Reuther & Yngve Dahle & Carolin Schmidt & Franziska Schösser, 2023. "Motivational Facets of Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, January.
    5. Daniele Eckert Matzembacher & Mervi Raudsaar & Marcia Dutra de Barcellos & Tõnis Mets, 2019. "Sustainable Entrepreneurial Process: From Idea Generation to Impact Measurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-26, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiang, J.-Q. & Yu, T. & Wang, Z.-H. & Qi, D.-M & Huang, W.-Z, 2018. "Analyzing the Size and Affecting Factors of Household Food Waste in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277551, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Principato, Ludovica & Secondi, Luca & Cicatiello, Clara & Mattia, Giovanni, 2022. "Caring more about food: The unexpected positive effect of the Covid-19 lockdown on household food management and waste," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    3. Braun, Charis Linda & Rombach, Meike & Bitsch, Vera & Häring, Anna Maria, 2018. "Structures and Actors of the Organic Vegetable Value Chain for School Catering: a Case Study of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region," 2018 International European Forum (163rd EAAE Seminar), February 5-9, 2018, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 276863, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    4. Jagoda Jungowska & Bartosz Kulczyński & Andrzej Sidor & Anna Gramza-Michałowska, 2021. "Assessment of Factors Affecting the Amount of Food Waste in Households Run by Polish Women Aware of Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Bitsch, Vera & Koković, Nevena & Rombach, Meike, 2014. "Risk Communication and Market Effects during Foodborne Illnesses: A Comparative Case Study of Bacterial Outbreaks in the U.S. and in Germany," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(3), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Danilo Bertoni & Daniele Cavicchioli & Franco Donzelli & Giovanni Ferrazzi & Dario G. Frisio & Roberto Pretolani & Elena Claire Ricci & Vera Ventura, 2018. "Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    7. Azzurra Annunziata & Massimiliano Agovino & Aniello Ferraro & Angela Mariani, 2020. "Household Food Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Uzea, F. Nicoleta & Fulton, Murray E., 2014. "Mechanisms for Effective Alliance Management: Insights from a Federated Cooperative Marketing System," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(1), pages 1-32, February.
    10. Bitsch, Vera & Yakura, Elaine K., 2007. "Middle Management in Agriculture: Roles, Functions, and Practices," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-28.
    11. Massimiliano Cerciello, 2021. "Spatial patterns in food waste at the local level. A preliminary analysis for Italian data," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 83-101, February.
    12. Götz, Linde & Svanidze, Miranda & Tissier, Alain & Brand Duran, Alejandro, 2022. "Consumers’ willingness to Buy CRISPR gene-edited tomatoes: Evidence from a choice experiment case study in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(2).
    13. Bitsch, Vera & Kassa, Getachew Abate & Harsh, Stephen B. & Mugera, Amin W., 2006. "Human Resource Management Risks: Sources and Control Strategies Based on Dairy Farmer Focus Groups," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 38(1), pages 1-14, April.
    14. Vera Amicarelli & Christian Bux, 2021. "Food waste in Italian households during the Covid-19 pandemic: a self-reporting approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 25-37, February.
    15. Theodoridis, Prokopis K. & Zacharatos, Theofanis V., 2022. "Food waste during Covid- 19 lockdown period and consumer behaviour – The case of Greece," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Efrat Elimelech & Eyal Ert & Ofira Ayalon, 2019. "Exploring the Drivers behind Self-Reported and Measured Food Wastage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Caroline Ruiner, 2021. "Voluntary Work in Digital Contexts as Gift Exchange," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-13, November.
    18. Luca Secondi & Ludovica Principato & Luca Ruini & Matteo Guidi, 2019. "Reusing Food Waste in Food Manufacturing Companies: The Case of the Tomato-Sauce Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-13, April.
    19. Ovidija Eičaitė & Gitana Alenčikienė & Ingrida Pauliukaitytė & Alvija Šalaševičienė, 2021. "Eat or Throw Away? Factors Differentiating High Food Wasters from Low Food Wasters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, September.
    20. Delley, Mathilde & Brunner, Thomas A., 2017. "Foodwaste within Swiss households: A segmentation of the population and suggestions for preventive measures," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 172-184.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:18:p:5101-:d:268254. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.