Can you imagine the power? fill the shopping bag for only four euros? In a time of skyrocketing prices and inflationary tendencies, this seems more like the result of an impossible wish than something concrete. But still, this has been a reality in Spain for the last five years. ‘Too Good to Go’ It is the platform that makes this possible. Second life to good food otherwise it would be thrown away.
The motto of this young company, which was born in Denmark in 2015 when a group of friends noticed how much food was thrown away at the buffet they went to eat, is “Fighting together against food waste.” Seeing how kilos of food in perfect condition are thrown away They wondered if there was another way to prevent this. This experience was the seed of the practice of ‘Too Good to Go’ or literally ‘Too Good to Waste’.
The biggest app to combat food waste It acts as an intermediary between two sectors in the world. On the one hand, restaurants, stores or supermarkets that sell products or food that they cannot sell, and on the other hand, consumers who fill their refrigerators by taking advantage of very low prices.
Eat for 2 or 5 euros
The app is available for free for iOS and Android. As soon as users enter, they can see the businesses around them and save their information. Preferred Surprise Food Packages at lower prices ranging from 2 to 5 Euros. The contents of these packages are always a surprise because it depends on the excess available each day. When purchasing his/her package, the user pays through the app and only needs to collect the package from the organization at the specified time.
Already starting to achieve success in other European countries such as the United Kingdom or France, the application reached Spain in 2018 with an ambitious goal: Change the Spanish relationship with food. “It was a very innovative idea, there was no talk of food waste at that time,” recalls Carlos García, the company’s head of communications.
Like all beginnings, Too Good to Go’s start in Spain was difficult. “We were slowly growing,” García says, explaining that when they started “adding institutions,” everything started to become much more agile. Today, five years later, they can already say that they have managed to settle “the entire Spanish territory.” “We currently have over 6 million users and 18,000 participating organizations.” he reports.
Too Good To Go’s growth is largely explained by its alliances with brands such as: Carrefour, VIPS, Aldi, Starbucks, SPAR, Morrisons, Costa, Casino Group, M&B and PAUL Group, among others, who globally join the community of users and small business owners fighting against food waste. “It’s also a way for them to gain visibility and show their commitment to the environment,” the communications chief explains.
His arrival in Spain was a revolution. According to the data of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 8 million tons of good food are thrown away every year in our country. Food waste is one of the biggest challenges of our economy, and this app has managed to do what no one else has done before. In the last five years, In Spain, Too Good to Go managed to avoid 16,000 tonnes of food in good condition and we will save 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
And that too Food waste is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. “Every package saved or meal not wasted makes a difference, because you’re not only saving money, you’re also taking care of the planet,” says García.
In recent years, the work of this company has gone beyond practice. One of the most important pillars of its activity is awareness campaigns on the problem of food waste. An example is yours ‘Look, Smell, Try’ initiative, Label with an expiration date on the packaging of products to remind consumers that once this date has expired, they should use their senses to determine whether the product is still in good condition before unnecessarily discarding it.
This is how it is intended to end Confusion still exists among consumers when it comes to distinguishing the meaning between expiration date and expiration date.. More than 41 mass consumption brands have already participated in this initiative (such as YoSoy or Central Lechera Asturiana), and its distinctive feature is present on the packaging of more than 1,200 product references.
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Contact address of the environmental department:[email protected]