Its Canadian launch partners include Eataly, Fresh City and Greenhouse. They were selected because of their commitments to sustainability and existing efforts to limit food waste, said Too Good to Go.
The daily “Surprise Bags” vary by partner, with consumers paying about one-third of the actual retail price, said Too Good To Go’s country manager for Canada Sam Kashani. The surprise nature of each bag’s contents addresses what Too Good to Go describes as the “unpredictable nature” of food waste.
“At the end of the day, [customers] get incredible value for healthy, delicious food, while the store minimizes waste and ultimately drives incremental revenue,” said Kashani. “And most importantly, because we’re a social impact company at heart, the planet wins because another meal doesn’t end up in the wastebin.”
Too Good To Go has also become something of a discovery tool for regular users, said Kashani, many of whom often return to its vendor partners as full-paying customers. “The feeling of wonder and surprise is actually quite exciting for our customers, all while doing something super positive for the app,” he said.
Food waste is a significant challenge in Canada, with Too Good To Go saying more than 50% of all food produced in the country is wasted, which far exceeds the global average of one-third. Canadians waste as much as 35.5 tonnes of food per year—approximately 11.2 million tonnes of which is edible. Toronto is a major contributor, with the average single-family household throwing out about 441 pounds of food each year.