The UAE’s shoppers are getting smarter about value—and sustainability. One of the fastest-growing habits is buying near-expiry products, quality items approaching their date labels that are still perfectly usable when handled correctly. This win-win reduces waste and unlocks meaningful savings on household staples. Now, a new UAE service, ThrowMeNot, is making it even easier to discover short-dated deals—offering especially good launch-stage discounts as it builds its community of buyers and sellers.
What are Near-Expiry Products?
Near-expiry items are products with a limited remaining shelf life. For food, it helps to know the difference between:
- “Best before” — about quality. The product may still be fine after this date if stored properly, though taste or texture can decline.
- “Use by” — about safety. Consume on or before this date, particularly for chilled and ready-to-eat items.
Non-food categories—beauty, cleaning supplies, vitamins, and pet care—also appear as near-expiry, where the concern is typically reduced effectiveness rather than safety.
Why Buy Near-Expiry in the UAE?
- Immediate savings: Short-dated items often come with deep markdowns, letting households stretch weekly budgets without trading down on brands.
- Sustainability: The UAE is serious about reducing waste. Choosing near-expiry products gives a second life to perfectly good goods that might otherwise be discarded.
- Smart stock turnover: Retailers and suppliers free up shelf space and reduce loss, passing a share of the value back to shoppers.
Meet ThrowMeNot: New, Simple, and Generous with Discounts
ThrowMeNot is a new marketplace in the UAE dedicated to near-expiry and overstock essentials. At this early stage, the platform is focusing on visibility and trust—so it’s offering particularly strong discounts on selected items to help shoppers try the service and come back for more. The experience is designed to be straightforward:
- Curated listings: Short-dated items from trusted sellers, clearly tagged with remaining shelf life.
- Transparent pricing: Launch offers and bundled savings to move everyday items quickly and fairly.
- Convenient categories: From pantry staples to home care and personal care, so you can cover a weekly shop in minutes.
Explore current deals here: ThrowMeNot.ae.
How to Shop Near-Expiry Like a Pro
- Match timing to needs: Buy what you’ll realistically use before the date. Weekly meal plans help.
- Prioritize “best before” for flexibility; treat “use by” as a hard limit, especially for chilled foods.
- Inspect packaging: Avoid damaged seals or swollen cans.
- Store correctly: Follow temperature and storage instructions right away.
- Pick the right categories: Dry goods, snacks, grains, sauces, and cleaning products are ideal near-expiry buys.
Good for Households, Good for the Planet
Every near-expiry purchase is a small climate action. By rescuing items close to their dates, UAE shoppers reduce landfill waste and the emissions embedded in producing, packaging, and shipping those goods. Multiplied across thousands of baskets, the impact adds up.
Near-expiry shopping isn’t a compromise; it’s a smarter way to buy. With a new platform like ThrowMeNot providing strong introductory discounts, this is the perfect moment to try short-dated essentials, cut your costs, and support a more sustainable retail cycle in the UAE. Add near-expiry finds to your next shop—you’ll feel the difference in your wallet and your footprint.
