Sustainable Solutions: Working towards Zero Food Waste

Food waste is a pressing global issue that not only squanders valuable resources but also has adverse environmental and social consequences. In South Africa, this problem is significant, with millions of tons of food wasted each year.

With the abundance of export-grade citrus grown by Schoonbee Landgoed, combined with the logistic constraints of international trade, initiatives to effectively manage and reduce our own food waste became a priority.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Heavily bruised or scarred fruit such as those pictured can not be exported or sold in store even though on the inside they are perfectly suitable for consumption. The same applies to premium fruit nearing the end of their shelf life.

Schoonbee Landgoed’s popular range of Pure Juices was the first project we embarked on in our goal towards zero food waste. The core range of cold-pressed citrus juice launched early in 2021 and as the variety of fresh fruit and vegetables offered though our online online expanded, so too has our range of cold-pressed juice. Our variety of health shots being the latest exciting addition.

We have three new health shots available to give you a boost of energy, support your immune-system and promote digestive wellness: Tangy Citrus Elixir, Sunny Citrus Energizer and Zesty Citrus Shot.

Adapting as we grow

With the launch of our online store, which offered a wider range of products beyond the citrus and grapes grown by Schoonbee Landgoed, we began experimenting with dehydrating citrus fruit. The enthusiasm following the launch of our Dried Citrus Slices in beautiful, sustainably packaged glass was immensely gratifying and the next year we introduced bulk options for the entire range.

Our product development team continued to innovate as we expanded our online offering to include locally produced, seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables. The resulting Fig Delight and Luxury Trial Mix proved to be extremely popular.

A Community Concern

For our online shop product range, we work closely with entrepreneurs and businesses from our hometown of Groblersdal, Limpopo to bring a range of premium, locally produced products to a wider audience through our “Made in the Loskop Valley” initiative.

Extending those partnerships, we have developed a number of exceptional products (such as our unique Spekboom Relish and delicious Blueberry Drizzle) to mitigate the risk of food waste.

We are proud of the steps we have taken to mitigate the risk food waste at Schoonbee Landgoed and will continue to learn from emerging trends and innovations to adopt sustainable practices to build a more sustainable and efficient food system.