Asistant general manager of hospitality for Three Mills Bakery, Bekah Rowe. Photo: Three Mills Bakery.
A new app called Too Good To Go, designed to reduce food waste, has launched in Canberra, giving users access to discounted surprise bags of food that, in many cases, were destined for the bin.
With larger Australian-based companies like Roll’d and Bakers Delight on board, Too Good To Go has landed its first independent Canberra client, with Three Mills Bakery launching for sale on the app in early April.
Passionate about food waste and having lobbied her company to give the app a go, assistant general manager of hospitality for Three Mills Bakery Bekah Rowe is excited to now be on board.
“Addressing food waste is an urgent global issue, and being part of a solution that benefits both Canberrans and the planet is truly meaningful to myself and Three Mills,” Bekah explained to Region.
By being on the app, users can log in to see what food suppliers have listed a surprise bag of goods for collection that day. Bags sell for around $9.99, with the contents being valued at around $30.
Too Good To Go saves food waste while reducing the cost of groceries for consumers. Photo: Too Good To Go.
Too Good To Go was founded in 2015 by a group of Danish entrepreneurs who were trying to reduce food waste from their own restaurants.
The founders were all too aware of the global stats, with the United Nations Environment Programme Food Waste Index Report published in 2024 stating that food waste costs the global economy over a trillion US dollars a year.
Too Good to Go’s Australian director, Joost Rietveld, has set a company goal of reducing food waste in Australia by 50 per cent by 2030, and with 470,000 Australian users having already downloaded the app, they are well on their way. Their rapid expansion can be seen in the company’s job openings in Australia, with five sales positions open across the country.
“The team is delighted to introduce Too Good to Go to the nation’s capital, a region that’s demonstrated strong environmental stewardship while supporting local restaurants and producers,” says Joost.
In addition to the benefits of reducing food waste, the app gives people access to heavily discounted food, which, in a cost-of-living crisis, will go a long way for some families.
Australian director Joost Rietveld has set some big goals for the expansion into Australia. Photo: Too Good To Go.
In a company profile that aired on the CNBC production Make It, prior to the introduction of the app to Australia, Too Good To Go CEO Mette Lykke said that their main competitor for food waste is the bin.
The full picture of food waste in Australia is a little more complex, with companies like OzHarvest being able to redistribute unsold food to charitable causes.
While OzHarvest is an established and well-supported network, it doesn’t have full coverage for all food waste circumstances, particularly for food with very short lifespans or for businesses without the means to accommodate specific collection times.
It’s a matter that Bekah and the team at Three Mills have taken into account, and they see the two channels of waste food distribution working hand in hand while also giving them an opportunity to redistribute some waste food without a full financial loss.
“By partnering, we are taking further steps to reduce food waste while also being able to continue our daily donations to local independent food charities and farmers,” says Bekah.
To date, users of the app have saved over 175,000 meals from going in the bin and saved up to 70 per cent on their costs to purchase food, and that’s a win for everyone.
For more information on food waste and how Too Good To Go is helping to combat it, head to their Too Good To Go.
