‘Robin Food’ in Spain, a project that eliminates surplus food, employs vulnerable people and creates new products

The Robin Food project was set up with a three-fold aim: to eliminate surplus food, to employ people at risk of social exclusion and to develop healthy new products to be distributed and sold in shops nationwide. This initiative has been set up in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, with local partners such as Colruyt, KU Leuven, Okay, Rikolto, EnVie, De Verspillingsfabriek, Eroski, Robin Food and RISO Vlaams-Brabant.

In Spain, EIT Food, together with the Eroski cooperative group and the RobinGood start-up, which markets products made by people from vulnerable groups, promote the use of surplus food, such as fruit, milk, vegetables and bread, to give them a second chance. In addition to recycling these food products, new products are handmade using local ingredients.

In 2020, 40,000 units of these products are expected to be produced through an environmentally friendly process, including sustainable, biodegradable and plastic-free packaging. In fact, a total of 82,000 containers are expected to be used, avoiding the use of plastic.

The last step in this whole process is the product distribution, which, in Spain, is the responsibility of the RobinGood start-up. It has been assisted in this by Calidad Pascual, which will make use of its nationwide distribution system. The first points of sale are the Caprabo Ràpid chain in Barcelona, and other small shops in the Catalan capital: Esdemercado, Frooty and Veritas.

Furthermore, to ensure the feasibility of the project, Eroski has carried out market research to find out more about the target consumers who might be interested in buying these types of 100% social products, the aim of which is to create job opportunities and increase the employment of people at risk of social exclusion by promoting conscious and responsible consumption.