Waste not: selling near-expired bread in Indonesia

The high volume of global food waste in recent years has brought about economic and environmental catastrophes. At the retail level, food waste occurs as a consequence of maintaining high aesthetic standards, such as tossing out imperfect foods or foods that are nearing “best before” or expiry date. This study aims to investigate factors affecting consumer intention to buy near-expired bread in Indonesia, the world’s largest importer of wheat grain and a growing market for the bread industry. Previous studies have demonstrated that price consciousness and sale proneness are predictors of purchase intention of perishable foods. This research extends previous studies by incorporating perceived product quality in the purchase intention of near-expired bread. This study gathered 258 Indonesian consumers of near-expired bread. By using SEM-PLS approach, this study demonstrates that price consciousness, sale proneness, and product quality have positive and significant effects on purchase intention of near-expired bread. The results of this research provide guidelines for bakery shops owners and marketers on how to sell near-expired bread thereby reducing food waste and recouping financial losses due to production excess.