Case study: Too Good To Go

An interview with Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go.

What’s your company’s mission?

Our mission is to inspire and empower everyone to fight food waste together. Globally we have over 20 million registered users, with over 2.8 million registered users in the UK.

Since the app was launched, Too Good To Go has undergone significant and rapid growth. We are now operating in 14 countries in Europe – with a US expansion announced earlier this year – and along with our 46,000 partners and over 20 million Waste Warriors, we have saved almost 40 million meals globally.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg and we’re committed to fighting food waste globally to ensure that we are doing everything we can to prevent perfectly edible food from going to waste.

Too Good To Go works with a broad range of food businesses from hotels and supermarkets to independent bakeries and restaurant chains. We work one-on-one with businesses to figure out how Too Good To Go could work for their business, and what a ‘Magic Bag’ of their surplus food could look like.

As an example: for supermarkets, this could mean a box of produce that has reached its ‘best before’ date, while for a sushi restaurant, it could be a selection of pre-packed sushi. Regardless of what a business’s surplus food looks like, we can always package it in a way that will make it a delicious option that users are keen to rescue.

Once we have established a process and a Magic Bag concept that works for the business, we set them up with a store profile and put them live on the app.

Stores can get in touch by filling in a form on our website, and our team will work with them to ensure their surplus food is enjoyed, not wasted.

The Too Good To Go app gives consumers the chance to enjoy a delicious meal at a great price, whilst doing something great for the planet – we call it win-win-win.

Research we commissioned last year found that two thirds of Brits are not aware of the links between food waste and climate change. In fact, food waste accounts for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By making one small change, such as rescuing surplus food from going to waste, users can make a big difference to the world around them.

Too Good To Go is more than a food app – we want to be an informative, educational platform that raises awareness of food waste and changes mindsets towards it.

Too Good To Go has seen incredible growth since our launch 4 years ago. In the UK, we now have almost 3 million registered users and 4,000 partner restaurants and retailers in 300 towns and cities.

For us the biggest measure of success is how many meals we are diverting from going to waste. Last October we celebrated saving 1 million meals and we are now closing in on the 2 million meal mark. To put this into context, saving 2 million meals from going to waste saves 5,000 tonnes of CO₂, the same as emitted by 984 flights around the world.

For us it’s all about raising awareness and providing a tool for everyone to fight food waste together. We dream of a planet with no food waste. To get there, there is a lot that still needs to be done – and by adding more partner stores and engaging more consumers we can continue to make a difference.

Have you used Too Good To Go, or another similar app? If so, please share your experience with other Learners in the comments section below, the benefits and the drawbacks.