Frigidaire Fights Food Waste

Launches campaign to save leftovers

By Alan Wolf, YSN

Frigidaire is taking our mothers’ admonition to heart: Don’t throw away food.

In a new effort spearheaded by a resourceful AI chatbot named “Frankie,” the Electrolux brand is encouraging Americans to spare their leftovers from the trash bin.

While many of us were taught that it’s sinful to chuck our chow, saving meals has assumed a new urgency given the rising cost of groceries and the pressure on family budgets.

Or so you’d think.

Yet according to a recent survey commissioned by Frigidaire, nearly three‑quarters of U.S. adults (74%) say they discard food from their refrigerator at least once a week, and more than one in five (22%) estimate they waste as much as $1,200 annually on unfinished fare.

The disconnect is striking, the appliance maker said, especially as Americans overwhelmingly say their motivation for saving leftovers is rooted in good intentions, like trying to avoid food waste (64%) and saving money (52%).

To help consumers stretch their grocery budgets and get the most out of their meals, Frankie by Frigidaire, a personalized cooking assistant, is said to offer recipes, creative remix ideas and tailored reheating guidance based on what’s available in the fridge. The chatbot can even curate a playlist of tunes to cook to, we’re told. (Full disclosure: YSN’s attempts to access Frankie were met with this message: “This agent is currently unavailable. It has reached its usage limit. Please try again later.”)

Another factor influencing throwaway food is visibility within the fridge. Although 79% of survey respondents were confident their refrigerator keeps food fresh, one in three said better organization and visibility would help them curb waste.

To those consumers Frigidaire says “We’ve got you covered” with models like its Gallery four-door French door fridge, which is designed to make food easier to see, store and use. Features include:

• Custom-Flex Temp Drawers, which easily convert between refrigerator and freezer space.
• A SpaceWise Organization System, offering adjustable shelving, expandable door bins and dedicated storage zones.
• CrispSeal Crispers, which help keep produce fresher longer by managing moisture and airflow — helping the 40% of people who say they tend to toss their leftovers over concerns about food safety or freshness.

“Too often, the challenge isn’t saving leftovers, it’s knowing what to do with them,” said Hannah Humphreys, brand manager, food preservation at Electrolux. “Our findings show that while most people actually enjoy eating leftovers, in practice they are pushing them to the back of the fridge and either forgetting about them or second-guessing whether they’re still fresh.

“By combining Frankie with our innovative refrigeration features, we’re helping remove that friction,” she said, “making it easier to turn what’s already in your fridge into meals you actually want to eat, while keeping food fresher for longer.”

Frigidaire’s food survey was conducted in March by Atomik Research, which queried 2,000 U.S. adults online.

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