‘You’re probably just going to have to make it work’
David Niles, a 63-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, goes to great lengths to save food from going to waste. He has spent nearly $10,000 on “surprise bags” of leftover food from retailers like restaurants and bakeries through an app called Too Good To Go.
Too Good To Go, a Copenhagen-based company founded in 2015, brought in just under $162 million in revenue in U.S. dollars last year. The company’s mission is to help reduce global food waste, a problem that costs the world $1 trillion per year. Despite not yet enjoying a profitable year, the company is reinvesting its cash flow into expanding geographically, adding new retailers to its app, and building new support offices.
Conviction to stay the course
Too Good To Go’s CEO, Mette Lykke, joined the company in 2016 as an angel investor and took over as CEO in 2017. She has since re-expanded 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.
The app arrived in the United States in 2020 and already hosts retailers in 33 U.S. metro areas and counting. Lykke believes that the company’s business model is brilliant and that it will eventually become profitable. She notes that the company has yet to enjoy a profitable year, but it has earned $8 million last year before subtracting one-time costs.
Greenwashing concerns
Some app users, like Niles, worry that Too Good To Go “greenwashes” the issue of food waste, giving users false impressions of environmental responsibility. However, if every food retailer in the U.S. used a similar markdown mechanism, they would save one million tons of food annually, according to calculations by Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED.
Conclusion
Too Good To Go’s future depends on faith in the long-term potential of its business model and a conviction to stay the course over time. The company’s CEO, Mette Lykke, believes that the company has a brilliant model and that it will eventually become profitable. The company’s mission to reduce global food waste is an important one, and its efforts to achieve this goal are commendable.
FAQs
Q: What is Too Good To Go?
A: Too Good To Go is an app that allows users to purchase “surprise bags” of leftover food from retailers like restaurants and bakeries at discounted prices.
Q: How does Too Good To Go make money?
A: The company takes a cut of each surprise bag purchase and collects annual membership fees from retailers.
Q: Has Too Good To Go ever been profitable?
A: No, the company has not yet enjoyed a profitable year, but it has earned $8 million last year before subtracting one-time costs.
Q: What is the goal of Too Good To Go?
A: The company’s mission is to help reduce global food waste, a problem that costs the world $1 trillion per year.
Q: How many users does Too Good To Go have?
A: The company has 100 million users across 19 countries in Europe, North America, and Australia.
Q: How many retailers does Too Good To Go work with?
A: The company works with retailers in 33 U.S. metro areas and counting.
