Innovation

Too Good To Go is the world's #1 marketplace for surplus food. They connect businesses who have unsold surplus food at the end of the day to consumers who purchase that food at 1/3 the retail cost. They address SDG 2. Zero hunger, 11. Sustainable cities and communities, 12. Responsible consumption and production, by making quality food available at a drastically reduced cost, that otherwise would have gone to waste. Food loss and waste also contributes the climate change crisis with its significant greenhouse gas. Too Good To Go addresses SDG 13. Climate action, by reversing the effects of global warming by reducing food waste. Their mobile application connects people and businesses that have a common goal in mind and by “partnering to win” SDG 17. Partnerships for the goals is addressed.

Inspiration

Canadian PR Manager, Sarah Soteroff describes the founders who started the company in Denmark as “Passionate Waste Warriors.” They frustratingly observed the tremendous waste created by throwing out surplus food and knew there was a desire to eliminate it and demand for the end-user. They worked to find a way to reduce food waste and created Too Good to Go which allows people to connect with businesses that will throw away food. Not only does this give the business a last change to make a bit of profit off of food that would of been a 100% loss, but allows customers who may not have the money to buy food at a discounted price. They were motivated to end food waste, and this was the perfect solution.

Overall impact

Too Good To Go has now grown to 17 countries across Europe and North America, including Canada and the US. They started by manually signing up stores and spreading the word. “We still use a very grassroots method wherein we speak directly to store owners in every city and share with them the benefit of ending waste and increasing their profit from surplus food.”

In Canada, Too Good To Go has 360,000 app downloads, 2,300 partners, and saved 330,000 meals. As further evidence of their positive impact on society, they have 55.1M app downloads, 147,000 partners, and has saved 129M meals from being wasted.

Business benefit

Passionate Waste Warriors started the company in Denmark in 2016 and opened in Canada in 2021. The company operates in 17 countries across Europe and North America. The company has 1,250 employees worldwide 48 employees in Canada as of 2021. The company was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022. Their revenue was $76.3 million in 2021.

Working for Too Good To Go is a rewarding experience where employees can be in a diverse environment with people who are constantly making positive impact on the world. They have hired many new employees in the past few years and their teams are growing rapidly which allows for new ideas and perspectives for the company.

Because the business worked to reduce food loss and waste, they have been able to exponentially grow as a company in the past few years. The company has become the middleman for businesses and customers, allowing them to benefit from the costs of operations without having to physically sell anything other then the use of an app to bring those two groups together.

Social and environmental benefit

Eliminating food waste is the fastest way to fight climate change. Ultimately, Too Good To Go’s reduction in food waste, helps to lower greenhouse gas emissions in 17 countries currently. This has had a significant positive impact on their goal of saving the planet by saving food. “Everyone can start fighting food waste at home and when they dine out, so it is also the most democratic and easily scalable solution. Everyone can start saving food today!”

Although Too Good To Go has already had an immense impact on several SDGs, Soteroff says they are just getting started! According to her the work is ongoing, and certainly not complete. "If you look at the numbers you will see that there is a huge need and desire to meet this need to end food waste. We continue to expand and sign more partners because the need persists."

Interview

Sarah Soteroff, PR Manager