Digital Leisure & Hospitality Innovations Q&A – Too Good To Go

Following the launch of the Digital Leisure & Hospitality Innovations 2017 Report (sponsored by Webloyalty) a series of Q&A’s with the leading figures behind some of the key entries in the report are being published.

Here is a Q&A with Jamie Crummie, co-founder, Too Good To Go, which is placed at number 2 in the report.

1. How did the original idea come about?

Too Good To Go began with a desire to tackle a major environmental issue – food waste. The app was founded with a mission to place the lost value back onto food as something that should be eaten, not thrown away. It’s a response to the harrowing fact that as a global society, we carelessly throw away over one-third of the food we produce at the same time as watching one billion people go to bed hungry every night. We’re trying to highlight that food is food – our most valuable resource of energy – and not a mere consumer commodity.

2. What has been the level of take-up of the service and what are the key ways retailers/foodservice companies are using it?

There has been great uptake of the app, we work with over 5,000 food businesses across Europe and this number is increasing daily! Businesses use Too Good To Go as a safety net, allowing them to operate as usual, however, without the wasted food at the end of service. Previously, many businesses were paying companies to collect their food waste but now they are getting money for new users to collect, massively reducing their costs. This also shows how businesses are up-cycling their waste to introduce their food to new customers, while looking awesome for helping save the planet!

3. What about competition in this area?

Luckily, food waste is gaining more and more needed coverage so there are loads of cool apps and initiatives that are tackling it in their own unique ways. We love collaborating and working with creative ideas helping reduce different aspects of food waste at all levels of the supply chain.

4. How has the solution been developed / advanced over time?

Too Good To Go started off as just a website and has developed into the app you see today. We’re constantly trying to innovate and become even better at rescuing food and ensuring a great experience for stores and customers alike.

 

5. Have there been any surprises along the way?

There are constant surprises – every day is different and provides us with new challenges as well as ideas to pursue. As we’re always learning more about users and stores and what they want we are constantly evolving. We notice different trends for different cities in terms of popular cuisine styles as well as the most popular collection times.

6. What can we expect from Too Good To Go in the future?

First and foremost, you can expect to see more and more meals being saved every month. This will involve expansion with plenty of new stores joining the platform. We also expect to be more involved in communities as well to ensure that we are leading the fight against food waste and supporting everyone who wants to get involved. We expect to keep innovating the app and hope to include an element of gamification to keep our users engaged and excited about the great work they are doing to tackle food waste.

7. Do you have any recommendations for entries in the next Digital Retail Innovations report?

As with all great digital products it is the key to keep innovating and developing to ensure longevity. Always keep the problem you are trying to solve at the forefront of your decisions so that you don’t lose track of your ultimate goal. It’s essential to listen to feedback from customers to make sure that everything you do is improving the service you provide and keeping your product relevant.

 

Webloyalty is a leading reward programme provider working with major online retailers to help them build stronger, more profitable relationships with their customers. Through our membership programmes we help our online retail partners’ customers save hundreds of pounds a year while providing the partner with an additional revenue stream. As well as incentivising customers to make repeat purchases at the partner’s site, members can also earn cashback and get great deals on everything from fashion to electronics to travel, at hundreds of top online stores