You are here:  

• Print

Shelf Life

Shelf Life is a start-up who believes reducing food waste should be simple and affordable. For their first product, they are developing an affordable fridge filter that helps consumers keep produce fresher for longer, aiming to reduce the huge amount of food waste that happens in the home.

After collaborating with the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry to identify the optimal materials for the absorber, the next critical step was to test the prototype in realistic, everyday conditions.

The aim of the project was to confirm the effectiveness of the prototype on real produce stored in a domestic-style fridge, while also gathering robust evidence to support future marketing claims. In addition, the study sought to understand how consumers might use the product in practice, providing valuable insights to help shape clear and effective usage instructions.

Image credit: Shelf Life Ltd

 

Project brief

• Test the prototype absorber with real produce in a domestic fridge, tracking the effect on produce quality and shelf life to ensure to ensure efficacy before launch.
• Monitor the behaviour of the absorber itself over time to inform safe and effective consumer usage guidance.

The response

• Desk research was carried out to review previous similar studies, their test methodologies, and to select a variety of produce categories that would be suitable for the test (to provide challenge to the device but also that are also commonly wasted due to losing quality over time in the fridge).
• A test design was created and produce sourced.
• A fridge test of the absorber against a control scenario was carried out with the prototype provided, over a 1-month period, with a variety of produce (salad, vegetables and fruit) being monitored for sensory quality.
• The prototype device was also monitored for changes during the storage test.
• The company was provided with a report regarding the observed efficacy of the device and with recommendations or how the absorber would be best applied in a consumer scenario, which will inform the development of usage instructions.

Benefit to the business

• Working with Alice and the University of Nottingham Food Innovation Centre team has been instrumental in giving us the confidence and evidence we needed to move our product forward. The knowledge we’ve gained throughout this process has been invaluable, and Alice went above and beyond to ensure we got the most out of our grant funding.

• Her expertise enabled us to design and run structured real-life trials, testing our prototype absorber on a range of commonly wasted produce in realistic fridge conditions. Through this process, we gained clear insights into how our device performs over time, which directly shaped our product instructions and safety guidance. We were also provided with an independent evaluation of its effectiveness, giving us robust data to move forward with.

• Beyond the technical findings, the project helped us understand how consumers are likely to interact with our product in practice, ensuring our launch strategy is grounded in real behaviour. This collaboration has accelerated our path to market and strengthened our ability to tackle food waste in an affordable, impactful way. We’re hugely grateful to Alice and the Food Innovation Centre team for their support.