Ultrafast Grocery Players Target Food Waste

As "ghost grocers" offering ultrafast delivery of a pared-down assortment of food and household essentials from microwarehouses have started popping up in more U.S. cities, a familiar grocery challenge has come to the fore: what to do with surplus food.

Enter Too Good To Go, a New York-based Certified B Corp. offering an app that lets users buy surplus foods and beverages at one-third their retail price. Too Good To Go operates in 12 U.S. cities and 17 international markets and partners with food retailers as well as restaurants; this week, the company announced new partnerships with ultrafast grocers JOKR, Gorillas, Light Speed Market and Food Rocket.

Too Good To Go users purchase "Surprise Bags" from their retailer of choice—be it a grocer, a bakery or another neighborhood food vendor—that contain an assortment of surplus items. Grocery assortments may include baked goods, prepared foods, meats, dairy products, and/or fresh fruits and vegetables, including items that may be at or past their manufacturer's suggested sell-by date. 

See also: Can Tech End the Fresh Food Waste Crisis?

Partnerships with instant-delivery grocers are helping Too Good To Go "challenge the industry standard of discarding large amounts of perfectly good surplus at the end of each business day," company executive Tyler Simmons said in a news release. "By placing an emphasis on sustainable operations, these organizations are collectively paving the way toward a greener, healthier future and saving surplus at significant retail levels." 

See also: Waste Not: How the Pandemic Shifted Shoppers' Sustainability Priorities

JOKR U.S. co-founder Tyler Trerotola said his company's partnership with Too Good To Go furthers JOKR's commitment not only to a more-sustainable grocery business but also serving the communities in which it operates. "With food waste in the U.S. estimated between 30%-40% of the total food supply, we have an opportunity to drive industry sustainability and to help turn Too Good to Go's dream of a planet with no food waste into a reality," Trerotola said.