Whole Foods partners with surplus foods salvage app

Whole Foods Market has launched a nationwide partnership with Too Good To Go, the mobile app that enables users to buy surplus foods at a discount.

Customers can choose between Prepared Foods Surprise Bags, containing soups and ready-to-eat meals, priced at $9.99, and Bakery Surprise Bags, containing breads, muffins, scones, and cookies, priced at $6.99. The bags are valued at about $30 and $21, respectively, according to Too Good To Go.

Both companies said the partnership will help them achieve their missions of reducing food waste, as Whole Foods will be able to offer leftover perishable foods that might otherwise end up being discarded.

“As part of our purpose to nourish people and the planet, we continue to invest in new and innovative ways to keep unsold food out of our landfills and empower our customers to make environmentally conscious choices,” said Caitlin Leibert, VP of sustainability, Whole Foods Market.”

The retailer said it hopes to save “millions of meals annually” by partnering with Too Good To Go.

In its 2023 Impact Report, Too Good To Go said that one of its largest partners, French supermarket retailer Carrefour, was able to save 3.83 million meals last year through its partnership with the app. Other major retail partners include Aldi and 7-Eleven in the U.S., Metro in Canada, and thousands of pizza shops, bakeries, and other venues around the world.

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Too Good To Go, which has more than 100 million registered users in 18 countries, said the Whole Foods alliance marks a significant milestone, as the company has been rapidly expanding its U.S. presence. More than 450 Whole Foods locations in the U.S. are participating in the program.

Users of the Too Good To Go app can browse among local grocers, restaurants, bakeries, and other food outlets to purchase unsold foods that would otherwise go to waste, paying a fraction of the full retail price for the items. The foods are offered in “surprise bags” — customers don’t know exactly what they are getting, although descriptions of typical offerings are provided — which allows the retailers and restaurants to fill the bags with whatever surplus they might have on any given day.