Wednesday 1st October 2025
IGA launches partnership with The Great Unwaste
IGA is proud to announce it is joining forces with a powerful nationwide movement, The Great Unwaste, developed by End Food Waste Australia. The partnership aims to drive Australian households to make small but mighty changes that help shoppers drastically cut food waste, save money, and create a sustainable future for our nation.
Australians overwhelmingly acknowledge a shared responsibility for food waste but believe supermarkets, restaurants and governments could be doing more, which is why Metcash jumped at the opportunity for IGA to be the first supermarket to partner with the initiative to help drive positive change.
Research from The Great Unwaste campaigns recently released Insight Report shows that 72% of Australians want to reduce the amount of food they waste at home*. Starting this month, selected Black & Gold and Community Co products will feature a new addition to their packaging – a Great Unwaste “Unwaste Me stamp”. Featuring quick prompts and tips on how to make the most out of the products, a QR code will also direct shoppers to recipes and information about how they can contribute to reducing household food waste and save on their weekly grocery shop.
Some of the first products that are hitting IGA shelves with the new tags are: Black & Gold Cheese Slices, Black & Gold Tasty Cheese 1kg, various Community Co Salad Bags and Kits, Community Co Turkish Rolls, and Community Co Frozen Fruits, with many more set to come as the partnership progresses.
End Food Waste Australia’s CEO, Tristan Butt said: “Every year, 73% of household food waste is going to landfill with the majority being perfectly edible. That’s almost 2.5 million tonnes of food costing households over $2,500 annually. This on-pack partnership is a first for Australian supermarkets, and a significant step toward turning food waste around. It’s about empowering shoppers with simple, practical ways to cut unintentional food waste at home and supporting Australia’s goal to halve food waste by 2030.”
Estella Young, Executive General Manager of Merchandise, Metcash Food said: “We’re incredibly excited about our partnership with The Great Unwaste. This represents an opportunity for us to help drive positive change when it comes to reducing food waste in Australia and helps our shoppers save by making the most of what’s in their fridge or pantry. Our Black & Gold and Community Co ranges include household staple products that offer great quality and value, and now with the launch of Unwaste Me stamps on select products, we’re hoping that we’re able to support our shoppers to do their part in cutting food waste, whilst making the most out of their grocery budget and shop.”
This new rollout will help Metcash support The Great Unwaste when it comes to championing simple yet impactful ways to help reduce food waste. Over the course of the partnership, more IGA Private Label brands will receive packaging updates with The Great Unwaste ‘Unwaste Me’ stamp and further initiatives will launch to engage shoppers in smart, sustainable food behaviours – from leftovers inspiration to smarter fridge storage and flexible planning tips.
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*The Great Unwaste research: The data comes from a nationally representative survey of 2,505 Australians aged 18+ who are partially, equally, or mainly responsible for at least three food provisioning behaviours in their household. Respondents are sourced from an online panel, and quotas are set to align with ABS population figures for age × gender and location. Data is weighted accordingly to ensure national representativeness.
About IGA
The IGA network is made up of many amazing independent retailers across Australia who support thriving local communities.
With over 1,200 independently owned stores, IGA’s value can’t be captured by a single dollar figure on a small basket of items. The network’s strength lies in being part of local communities, offering real honest value and its diversity – from smaller and convenient local stores to large full-range supermarkets offering up to 30,000 product lines.
Over the last few years, we’ve worked hard to provide value to local shoppers when and where they need it most, often serving shoppers in regional and remote locations the majors don’t cover. By working closely with our suppliers, we have been able to continue to deliver more competitive shelf pricing, excellent value through our weekly catalogues and half price specials, Price Match, Low Prices Every Day and Better Buys programs.
Every IGA store participates in the Price Match program, that automatically matches the lowest regular shelf price of Coles and Woolworths on hundreds of well-known brands and everyday items. IGA’s Low Prices Every Day and Better Buys programs lock the prices of essential and competitively priced products for a 13-week period, so you can shop at IGA with confidence knowing that these products will be the same great low price every week. Our IGA Rewards programs also help customers save more on their grocery bills, by offering personalised member offers and IGA Cash Back.
IGA stores are unique – home to brands you can’t find anywhere else and an important route to market for many small local producers. We have also grown our range of high quality and competitively priced Black & Gold and Community Co private label products, which are not only great quality and great value, but give back to local communities.
When IGA stores are surveyed and compared on an equitable playing field in terms of product offering, store size and store location they are competitive with the major supermarket chains. In fact, we know from our own data that there are stores in the network that are often on average cheaper than the chains.
We’re committed to helping shoppers find value in their local IGA store and will continue to support independent retailers to provide exceptional local service to their communities.