Got surplus food? Don’t waste it – here’s how to use it instead

05 October 2021, 07:50 AM
  • Putting surplus food to good use can help food businesses attract new customers, win back sunk costs and help the planet, says Too Good To Go

Sustainable Food Month is a great chance to consider how planet-friendly initiatives can benefit your business. From calculating your ingredients’ air miles, to considering the carbon footprint of each menu item, there are all sorts of ways to reduce negative impact on the planet.

However, when it comes to the sustainability conversation, there’s one issue that’s frequently underestimated: food waste.

Food waste accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and Project Drawdown labelled ‘reducing food waste’ as the #1 solution to solve climate change. Yet despite this, we continue to waste more than a third of food globally.

Too Good To Go is working with businesses to change that.

The Too Good To Go app makes it easy for businesses such as shops and restaurants to sell surplus food to customers, ensuring it gets eaten instead of wasted.

The concept is simple: as a food business, you simply update the app to show how much surplus food you have to sell, and set a time when customers can pick it up. Rather than listing individual portions of food, you fill a ‘Magic Bag’ with food that hasn’t sold in time, pricing it at 1/3 of the content’s original value.

Customers then search the app for local stores, purchase food via the app, and collect it at the pre-set time.

With 6 million UK users, Too Good To Go benefits businesses in numerous ways, from attracting new customers, to improving margins. And with every Magic Bag accounting for 2.5kg of CO2e saved, the positive outcomes for the planet are significant as well.

Hear what Too Good To Go partners have to say:


“The results completely superseded our expectations and we were blown away by how easy it was to transition this partnership into our business.”
– Rachel, Sustainability Development Manager, PAUL Bakery

Watch the video to see how it works

So far, UK food businesses have saved over 6 million Magic Bags, recouping costs and meeting new customers at the same time. It’s a win-win-win.

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