Camera vision and AI technology to help kitchens track and measure their food waste.
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Food waste is one of the biggest unseen expenses in the restaurant industry. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), between 30% to 40% of the food supply in the U.S. is wasted, with restaurants accounting for a significant share of that waste. Matter of fact, other studies show that restaurants can waste between 4% to 10% of the food they purchase.
Why is food waste a problem for restaurants?
Food waste doesn’t just reduce your profits—it also takes a significant toll on the environment by contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and squandering valuable resources like water, energy, and labor. The upside? With the right strategies, training, and systems in place, restaurants can dramatically reduce waste, improve operational efficiency, and build a more sustainable brand. Reducing food waste isn’t just good for business—it’s good for the planet, and your customers will take notice.
Why is it important to reduce food waste in restaurants
Food waste in restaurants is both a financial and environmental issue. According to WRAP, the hospitality sector generates 1.1 million tonnes of food waste every year, with over 75% of that waste being avoidable. Much of this food is perfectly edible, meaning restaurants are essentially throwing away money. The cost of food waste to the hospitality industry is estimated at £3.2 billion annually, or roughly £10,000 per outlet!
Environmentally, when food waste ends up in landfills, it decomposes and produces methane—a greenhouse gas with over 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Additionally, wasting food means squandering all the resources that went into producing it: water, land, energy, and labor. The water footprint alone of annual UK food waste equals approximately 5.4 billion cubic meters.
Why does food waste happen
Before you can reduce waste, you need to understand where it’s coming from. The most common sources of food waste in restaurants include:
- Overstocking or over-prepping: Buying or preparing more than you need leads to spoilage.
- Poor storage practices: Improperly stored food expires faster.
- Inconsistent portion sizes: Too-large servings mean more plate waste.
- Prep waste: Trimmings, peels, and unused offcuts often go straight to the trash.
- Menu design flaws: Dishes with unique, rarely used ingredients can increase spoilage.
Want to delve more into the topic of food waste? Check out our podcast-episode on Preventing food waste with the Country Manager at Too Good To Go!
4 tips to reduce food waste in restaurants
With a few strategic changes, restaurants can significantly cut down on waste while improving efficiency and sustainability. Here are four practical tips to help reduce food waste in your establishment.
1. Organize your walk-in to minimize waste
Your walk-in cooler is ground zero for food waste prevention. Here are best practices to ensure it supports your waste-reduction goals:
- Label everything: Include clear dates and item names.
- Rotate stock (FIFO): First in, first out. Teach your team to always use the oldest stock first.
- Group similar items: Makes it easier to find what you need and prevents over-ordering.
- Separate raw and cooked items: Avoid contamination and make better use of space.
- Set a weekly “walk-in check”: Assign staff to clean, consolidate, and log items nearing expiry.
2. Track food waste daily
Logging waste might feel like a chore, but it’s a critical first step toward reducing it. Start by tracking waste in key categories:
- Spoilage – ingredients that go bad before they’re used
- Prep waste – excess trimming or mistakes during food prep
- Plate waste – food left uneaten by customers
- Theft or misuse – intentional or accidental loss of inventory
By consistently tracking these areas, you’ll begin to spot patterns—giving you the insight needed to make smarter purchasing decisions, improve prep routines, and train staff more effectively.
3. Use technology to your advantage
Tools like TotalCtrl let restaurants log waste directly within their inventory system, making the process faster and more effective. This means:
- No more clunky spreadsheets or messy clipboards
- Real-time insights into where and why waste is happening
- The ability to connect waste data with inventory and sales for smarter decision-making
With everything in one system, it’s easier to take action—and see results.
4. Optimize operations using waste data
Once you start collecting data, turn insights into action:
- Redesign menu items – Get creative with offcuts and surplus ingredients to minimize waste and add value.
- Recalculate prep amounts – Base prep volumes on real sales data, not assumptions, to avoid overproduction.
- Train your team – Emphasize portion control, efficient prep techniques, and a waste-conscious mindset in daily operations.
Small changes, guided by data, can lead to big savings and a more sustainable kitchen.
Read more about our Impact Reporting Tool here.
Additional ways to reduce food waste in restaurants
Here are more cost-effective and sustainable strategies to reduce waste:
- Offer flexible portion sizes: Let customers choose smaller portions to reduce plate waste.
- Donate excess food: Partner with local food banks or charities to repurpose unsold meals.
- Repurpose ingredients: Use trimmings creatively (e.g., bread into croutons, peels for stocks).
- Use seasonal ingredients: Reduces cost and spoilage while supporting local producers.
- Educate your staff: Train employees to recognize expiration labels, prep efficiently, and store correctly.
- Offer staff meals: Reduce waste and boost morale by using surplus to feed your team.
- Encourage takeaway: Provide eco-friendly containers so guests can bring home leftovers.
- Compost food scraps: Divert unavoidable waste from landfills when donation isn’t possible.
Try our Restaurant Inventory Management Software for free!
Try for free to see how TotalCtrl works and how it can help your restaurant increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Conclusion
Food waste isn’t just a kitchen issue—it’s a business opportunity. By organizing your storage, tracking waste, and using smart tools like TotalCtrl, you can cut waste dramatically, save money, and run a more sustainable operation.
Turn your food waste into cost savings. Get started with TotalCtrl and take control of your kitchen today!
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Why smart inventory management is a game-changer for hospitality
In the fast-evolving hospitality industry, efficient inventory management is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic necessity. In 2025, innovative hotels and restaurants are turning to smart inventory systems to improve accuracy, reduce waste, and boost operational efficiency.
The evolution of hospitality inventory management
Inventory management in the hospitality industry has come a long way. What once depended on manual counts, paper logs, and guesswork has been transformed by smart technology into a fast, accurate, and data-driven operation.
From spreadsheets to smart systems
Traditional inventory methods—manual counts, spreadsheets, and paper logs—are prone to error and inefficiency. Smart inventory solutions are revolutionizing this process with automation and real-time data tracking.
The hidden costs of manual inventory counting
Labor-intensive processes, stock discrepancies, and spoilage can cost thousands monthly. By digitizing manual inventory control, hospitality businesses can reduce overhead while improving decision-making.
Smart inventory by the numbers
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Inventory counts completed 50% faster
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62% less time spent on stock-taking
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35% reduction in food waste within 30 days
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Just a 5-minute digital setup to get started
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By digitizing inventory control, hospitality businesses and restaurants can reduce overhead while improving decision-making.
Key features of modern inventory management systems
Today’s inventory management solutions are designed to streamline operations, reduce waste, and provide real-time insights. Here are the core features that set modern systems apart:
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Digital Inventory Counting
Effortless stock counts using mobile devices or tablets—no more paper or manual entry. -
Instant Digitization
Capture and update inventory data instantly from any device, anywhere. -
Real-Time Stock Tracking
Monitor inventory levels across locations in real time, reducing the risk of overstocking or shortages. -
Automated Alerts & Reporting
Receive proactive notifications on low stock, expirations, or discrepancies, along with scheduled reports. -
Smart Integration Capabilities
Seamlessly connect with POS and ERP systems like SAP Ariba for a unified workflow. -
Automated Report Generation & Sharing
Generate customizable reports with ease and share them with your team or stakeholders in just a few clicks. -
Centralized Multi-Location Management
Manage inventory across multiple outlets from one intuitive dashboard, ensuring consistency and control.
A Success Story: Ostehuset’s inventory transformation
Ostehuset, a well-known hospitality business, streamlined their operations with a smart inventory solution—cutting inventory management time by 62%. The switch resulted in faster workflows, fewer errors, and lower costs!
How to implement smart inventory in your hotel or restaurant
Train your team: Choose intuitive tools with minimal learning curves.
Integrate seamlessly: Connect with existing POS and procurement software.
Optimize continuously: Monitor usage data to refine inventory levels and reduce waste.
The future of hospitality inventory management
AI & machine learning: Predictive stock recommendations
Advanced analytics: Track performance and demand trends
Sustainability insights: Measure food waste and environmental impact with accurate reporting
Ready to get started?
Revolutionize your inventory process today with a smart, scalable solution. Start your 30-day free trial—backed by a full money-back guarantee.
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Here is a complete Media Kit with different versions of our logo, banners, style guides and our products sneak peeks.
Join us for a chat with Anna Strejcová, an expert on reducing food waste at Zachraň jídlo. They are working to cut down on food waste by donating food, running information campaigns, organizing events, and teaching companies how to tackle this issue.
Anna will talk about how Zachraň jídlo started, their efforts to track food waste in places like canteens, schools, hospitals, and care homes, and the goals of their projects, Food Waste Prague and foodCIRCUS. She will also share tips on how to reduce food waste at home, discuss the challenges Zachraň jídlo has faced, and share the lessons they’ve learned. Plus, Anna will talk about useful resources she follows on the topic of food waste.
Feel free to follow Anna’s journey on her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annastrejcova/
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TotalCtrl is producing this podcast. The company builds digital products in collaboration with restaurants, hotels, municipalities, and households to ditch manual processes, streamline food inventory management, and generate the monthly cost of goods sold and accounting reports.
For more information, you can visit www.totalctrl.com or feel free to write us via LinkedIn.
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If you have any feedback and suggestions for upcoming episodes or would like to suggest more guests, you can write to the moderator Ricardo Monagas.
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