Karma
Sweden
EU
Karma is a Swedish start-up from Stockholm, founded in November 2016. Its app connects restaurants, cafés and grocery stores that have unsold food at the end of the day with customers who...
European Food Waste Apps
Olio
United Kingdom
Olio is a free app from London for sharing surplus food and household items with neighbours. Tessa Cook and Saasha Celestial-One founded it in February 2015. Users post food they will not...
Phenix
France
EU
Phenix is a French social enterprise against food waste, active since 2014 and based in Paris. Its app lets shops sell surplus products and anti-waste baskets to people in the neighbourhood, and...
ResQ Club
Finland
EU
ResQ Club is a Finnish company from Helsinki that sells surplus food and flowers from restaurants, cafés, grocery stores and florists at reduced prices. The company was set up in Finland in...
Too Good To Go
Denmark
EU
Too Good To Go is a Danish company that sells surplus food through an app. It was founded in Copenhagen in 2015 and launched the app in Denmark in early 2016. Restaurants,...
Did we miss one? Feel free to submit a suggestion!
Submit SuggestionFood waste apps connect shops, restaurants and households that have surplus food with people who want to buy or collect it. All five apps below were founded in Europe between 2014 and 2016 and are the best-known ones on the continent. They work in different ways: some sell a Surprise Bag at a discount, others give food away for free.
European food waste apps compared
| App | Country | Model | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Too Good To Go | Denmark | Discounted Surprise Bags from businesses | 21 countries, the largest of the group |
| Olio | United Kingdom | Free sharing between neighbours and shops | Food and household items |
| Karma | Sweden | Discounted meals and groceries from surplus stock | Sweden |
| Phenix | France | Anti-waste baskets, donations, services for retailers | France |
| ResQ Club | Finland | Discounted food and flowers from surplus | Finland, plus Sweden, Germany, Poland |
Which app fits which need
Too Good To Go has the widest coverage and operates in 21 countries. Olio suits people who want to give away or take home food without paying. Karma, Phenix and ResQ Club are strongest in their home markets and often show more local shops there. Customers usually reserve in the app, pay there and collect during a set time window.
What to expect
What is on offer depends on the day, and a Surprise Bag does not let the customer choose its content. Discounts vary by shop, and the offer in small towns can be thin. Food waste apps reduce waste at the end of the day but do not replace planning purchases at home.
What Europe does not have
No app combines Olio's free sharing with the commercial offers of the others, and outside the home markets of the smaller apps the choice is often limited to Too Good To Go.