Opening the doors to our exciting new space in the heart of one of the most diverse communities in the world, Too Good To Go are among x+why’s progressive cohort of emerging industry leaders at Foundry in Birmingham. Too Good To Go is an app that lets you buy and collect this food - at a great price - so it gets eaten instead of thrown out. Connecting with a range of restaurants and cafes in the local area, their ‘magic bags’ are impacting the issue of food waste in a big way.
Opening the doors to our exciting new space in the heart of one of the most diverse communities in the world, Too Good To Go are among x+why’s progressive cohort of emerging industry leaders at Foundry in Birmingham. Too Good To Go is an app that lets you buy and collect this food - at a great price - so it gets eaten instead of thrown out. Connecting with a range of restaurants and cafes in the local area, their ‘magic bags’ are impacting the issue of food waste in a big way. We caught up with Jess Banner, the Regional Lead for the Midlands, at Too Good To Go to find out more about their tasty tips and secret sauce.
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What is the TGTG mission statement?
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Our mission at Too Good To Go is to inspire and empower everyone to fight food waste together.
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No one likes to throw perfectly edible food away, but it still happens on a daily basis. In fact, 40% of all food produced globally ultimately goes to waste. Not only does this cost food businesses money and waste resources, but food waste is also a huge problem for the environment, causing 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Too Good To Go was designed to provide an easy, flexible and fun solution to this problem. Food businesses can recover sunk costs, meet new customers and reduce their environmental impact, while consumers can buy and eat great food, all in the knowledge that they’ve prevented it from going to waste and harmful emissions being produced.
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Alongside our app we also exist as a social impact company, working to drive what we call a food waste fighting movement. Here we work within households, schools, businesses and governments to encourage and help build a planet-friendly food system.
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Tell us a little more about you and how you came to be so passionate about this industry?
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I realised the impact that food waste has on causes that I was already passionate about, such as climate change. I wanted to feel like my work had a purpose and was making a difference and working for TGTG has allowed me the opportunity to achieve that. As a big food fan and supporter of independent businesses, I also love how TGTG can help small, local businesses reduce their food waste and become more sustainable, but also recover costs and attract new customers.
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Tell us a little more about the TGTG journey and how it all began.
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Too Good To Go was founded in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs in Denmark who realised there had to be a simpler solution to food waste than dumpster diving. They explored the impact technology could have and the clear need for a solution that could connect people with surplus food to stop it going to waste - and Too Good To Go was born!
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While the idea began as a solution to tackling food waste in the hospitality industry, it’s now developed into so much more than this. Too Good To Go now exists as a platform to significantly reduce food waste from along the food supply chain, from producers and wholesalers to supermarkets and convenience stores to hotels and independent market stalls and everything in between.
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The U.K. was one of the first countries that we launched back in 2016. Now over six years later, Too Good To Go is present in 17 countries across Europe and North America, with over 55 million users and almost 150,000 businesses saving food with us.
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What makes Birmingham such a great place to live and work?
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First off, Birmingham has an incredible and diverse food scene - from the Balti triangle, to Chinatown, to Michelin starred restaurants. I also love the interesting history and architecture of the city that comes from its industrial background as the city of a thousand trades. The fact that you can have vibrant suburbs like Kings Heath, Moseley or Stirchley but equally there’s access to tons of green spaces, canals and countryside right on the doorstep also makes Birmingham such a great place to live and work. Most of all though, Birmingham has an amazing culture and creativity, especially in Digbeth. Brummies are the greatest people - friendly and filled with pride for their city.
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Why did you pick x+why for your office space and what are you most looking forward to when you move in?
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As fellow B Corps we share very similar ethics when it comes to the importance of sustainability and wellbeing at work. We’re really looking forward to being a part of the community and to meet and collaborate with like-minded people and businesses. And of course, Toast Ale on tap….
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Is there anyone in the wider community that you have already collaborated with?
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We do a lot of work with B Corp, including having recently hosted a pop-up breakfast in London during B Corp month to raise awareness of food waste caused by a misunderstanding of Best Before date labelling on food. We also chair a B Corp Food Waste Group which brings together other B corps in the food space to collaborate and brainstorm how we can do more to prevent and reduce food waste.
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What have been some of the biggest highlights and challenges of the TGTG journey so far?
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One of the overarching highlights of the TGTG journey has been to see the amazing growth from 2016 to now. What started as a small group of entrepreneurs has become an international company with over 1,000 employees all fighting food waste together. We have an amazing culture where people really care about what we’re achieving together - it’s one of the things that makes working at TGTG so special.
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In terms of challenges, raising awareness of food waste and its link to climate change is an ongoing aim for us. Most people don’t set out to waste food but often it happens as an outcome of small, everyday actions that people don’t notice. Right now, food waste is yet to have its ‘Blue Planet’ moment like we’ve seen with other important issues like single-use plastics or aviation. The shutdowns of the pandemic played a part in raising awareness of our food chain, but now we need to build that momentum and remind people of the value of our food and all that goes into producing it.
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How do you adhere to the triple bottom line?
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As a social impact company we believe in business as a force for good. Becoming a certified B Corp helps us demonstrate that, but it also holds us accountable when it comes to how we balance people, purpose and profit. The distinction of being a B corp is really important for us as it allows us to show that even in creating revenue or profit, we still actively consider how we can use that income to create positive change in the world. We’re here to demonstrate that you can still run a profitable business that puts people, planet and purpose at its core.
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What are some of the causes you're most passionate about today?
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Food insecurity, food waste, climate change, equality, conservation.
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What are your hopes and goals for the future?
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The hope is to have many more Midlands based businesses join our mission so we can help prevent even more delicious food from going to waste. We also want to grow Too Good To Go’s regional hub even further and show how we’re an inspiring place to work in the area.
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What are your sources of inspiration?
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It’s always inspiring to hear the impact that Too Good To Go has had on local businesses - whether that be in hearing their stories of how good it feels not to throw away food, or the financial benefits it can bring in recovering those otherwise sunk costs. I’m also constantly inspired by travel. Visiting and experiencing beautiful places in the world inspires me to help do all that I can to protect it.
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What does community mean to you?
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Togetherness, collaboration, support network, celebrating each other's success, driving change.
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How can more communities be encouraged to share your mission and vision?
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Reducing the amount of food we throw away is one of the most important things we can do for climate change - it’s why the UN has set a Sustainable Development Goal to halve global food waste by 2030. And the great thing is, that reducing food waste is one of the easiest and most accessible sustainable actions we can all take part in.
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Whether it’s working with a business like ours to reduce food waste at your organisation, or something simple like prepping your meals before doing your weekly shop to prevent over-buying at home, it all adds up to make a difference. I’d encourage everyone to check out the blog on our website (www.toogoodtogo.co.uk) or our Instagram page (@toogoodtogo.uk) where we have loads of tips and tricks to help.
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