*2.2. Descriptions of the Stores*

The three stores included in the study are located in different municipalities in Central Sweden. The sales area range between 4050 and 7000 square meters and the stores belonged to the hypermarket segment [43]. Two of the stores are proximal to the respective city centres, and the third store is adjacent to an external shopping centre. The stores are part of the same retail chain, called ICA, and the franchise is owned by different individuals. The ICA Group is one of the Nordic region's leading retail companies and the largest player in the Swedish food retail market, with a market share of 36% [44]. At the time of this study, the three stores had the same main supplier of FV, had similar product ranges, used the same computerised ordering tool, had similar storage and cooling facilities, and received similar support from the retail chain's headquarter. The waste that was generated in the stores was collected by a waste company and used for biogas production or was incinerated for energy recovery. In cases of food donation, it occurred after the food had been registered as in-store waste, meaning that there was no unrecorded food waste [45].

Each storeowner selected a contact person in their FV department, and in all the three stores, the employee responsible for the department was chosen. Those persons were also the most experienced among the personnel, and were considered specialists. One or two more employee/s from the FV departments from each store was/were involved on site for participatory observations.
