‘You’re probably just going to have to make it work’
David Niles, a 63-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, will go to great lengths to save food from going to waste. He has spent nearly $10,000 over the past four years purchasing “surprise bags” of leftover food at discounted prices through an app called Too Good To Go.
Too Good To Go is a Copenhagen-based company that was founded in 2015 with the mission to help reduce global food waste. The company has brought in just under $162 million in revenue in the U.S. last year, primarily by taking a cut of each surprise bag purchase and collecting annual membership fees from retailers.
Conviction to stay the course
Too Good To Go’s CEO, Mette Lykke, learned about the company while chatting with another woman on a bus near Copenhagen and joined its first funding round in 2016 as an angel investor. She became the CEO in 2017 and has since grown the company to include a grocery service, a software system for food retailers, and 100 million users across 19 countries in Europe, North America, and Australia.
A profitable, eco-friendly approach
While Too Good To Go is not yet profitable, Lykke is committed to staying the course and believes that the company has a brilliant model. She notes that the business has yet to enjoy a profitable year, instead reinvesting its cash flow into expanding geographically, adding new retailers to its app, building new support offices, and acquiring other startups.
Too Good To Go’s growth
Too Good To Go has grown significantly since its founding, with the app arriving in the United States in 2020 and now hosting retailers in 33 U.S. metro areas and counting. The company has also expanded its services to include a grocery service and a software system for food retailers.
Impact on food waste
Too Good To Go’s efforts have had a significant impact on reducing food waste. According to calculations by Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED, if every food retailer in the U.S. used a similar markdown mechanism, they would save one million tons of food annually. This is equivalent to about 900,000 cars coming off the road.
Conclusion
Too Good To Go’s commitment to reducing food waste is impressive, and its growth and impact are significant. While the company is not yet profitable, Lykke is confident in its model and believes that it has the potential to make a meaningful difference in the fight against food waste.
FAQs
Q: What is Too Good To Go?
A: Too Good To Go is a Copenhagen-based company that aims to reduce global food waste by selling “surprise bags” of leftover food at discounted prices through its app.
Q: How does Too Good To Go work?
A: Too Good To Go partners with food retailers to sell leftover food at discounted prices through its app. The company takes a cut of each sale and collects annual membership fees from retailers.
Q: What is the impact of Too Good To Go on food waste?
A: According to calculations by Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED, if every food retailer in the U.S. used a similar markdown mechanism, they would save one million tons of food annually. This is equivalent to about 900,000 cars coming off the road.
Q: Is Too Good To Go profitable?
A: No, Too Good To Go is not yet profitable. The company has reinvested its cash flow into expanding geographically, adding new retailers to its app, building new support offices, and acquiring other startups.
