Japanese coffee shop chain Excelsior to curb food loss via food sharing service TABETE

Some of our readers may recall our recent article in which we introduced Starbucks' recent efforts to tackle to the pervasive problem of food waste in its Japanese stores by offering a 20% discount on food items in pre-closing hours. As it turns out, Japanese coffee shop chains are also stepping up to the plate when it comes to reducing food loss.

Since late August, Excelsior Caffé, a popular coffee shop chain operated by Dotour Coffee Co Ltd, has introduced TABETE, one of the largest food-sharing platforms in Japan (operated by COOKING Co Ltd) at 50 locations.

One of the largest food sharing services in Japan, TABETE is a platform that allows users to "rescue" food items from restaurants and other food providers that would otherwise be discarded, even though they are still edible. The popular service already has 1,700 stores participating. Now with Excelsior Caffé joining, this makes an additional 50.

Examples of Excelsior Caffé food available through TABETE:

Background

Excelsior Caffé has 123 stores (as of the end of August 2021) mainly in the Kanto area, and its high-quality coffee roasted in-house, as well as its carefully selected food products, have been well received by many customers. While they provide their customers with a full lineup of products, there are times when they have no choice but to discard sandwiches and other items that are prepared in the store and cannot be carried over to the next day. Moreover, baked goods that are slightly damaged during delivery or when placed on display, or goods that are close to but have not yet reached their expiration dates have also been discarded even though they are still good to eat.

Dotour Coffee Co Ltd felt that TABETE provided an excellent method of reducing such food waste in Excelsior Caffé stores. After a successful trial at six stores in Tokyo which resulted in food waste equivalent to 104 kg being rescued by happy customers, they decided to make their collaboration with TABETE official and expand the service to 50 stores, with more locations to be added in the future.

List of participating Excelsior Caffé locations

Tokyo

Akasaka Park Building store, Akasaka Hitotsugi-dori store, Hotel the b Akasaka-mitsuke store, St. Luke's Garden store, Wing Shinbashi store, Shinbashi 2-chome store, Ginza Chuo-dori store, Kyobashi 1-chome store, Yaesu 1-chome store, Yaesu underground mall store, Shinjuku 3-chome store, Shinjuku Kotakibashi-dori store, Shinjuku Bunka Quint Bldg. store, Shinjuku Island store, Shinjuku First West store, Shinjuku Sompo Japan Bldg. store, Shinagawa Seaside Forest store, Shinagawa East One Tower store, Shibuya Dogenzaka store, Shibuya Mark City store, Shibuya Udagawa-cho store, Shibuya Koen-dori store, Shibuya Miyamasuzaka store, Yebisu Garden Place store, Jiyugaoka Station store, Jiyugaoka Marie Claire Street store, Ikebukuro 2-chome store, Mita store, Toramon Mita store, Toranomon store, Tamachi East Exit store, Gotanda East Exit store, Gotanda TOC store, Ningyocho store, Kanda North Exit store, Akihabara Central Street store, Arcakit Kinshicho store, Nakano Sun Mall store, Kichijoji Sun Road store, Kichijoji South Exit store, Tachikawa North Exit store, Tachikawa North Exit store

Kanagawa Prefecture

Musashikosugi store, Muza Kawasaki store, Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kawasaki Station East Exit store

Chiba Prefecture

Kashiwa Station West Exit store

Miyagi Prefecture

Sendai Chuo-dori store

Osaka

Shinsaibashi store, Sakaisuji-Honmachi store

Hyogo Prefecture

Kobe Motomachi store, Sannomiya Center Street store

(Note: List current as of the end of August, 2021)

Related Links

Excelsior Caffé

TABETE app (iOS / Android)

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