This app could help your grocery budget—if you know how to use it right
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Food waste remains a major issue across Australia, but an innovative new initiative could help tackle the problem—while offering some relief for household budgets.
After gaining traction in other states, a popular service is now making its debut in Queensland.
Its unique approach is already generating buzz among business owners and bargain hunters alike.
A global app designed to reduce food waste officially launched in Queensland after proving successful interstate.
Too Good To Go, dubbed the world’s largest marketplace of its kind, allowed customers to purchase leftover food from businesses at discounted prices, helping both the environment and consumer budgets.
The app had already gained 600,000 users across Australia before expanding to the Sunshine State.
Joost Rietveld from Too Good To Go explained the concept: ‘We connect stores with consumers where we pick up surplus food that hasn’t been sold that day.’
‘Typically you pay around let’s say $10 for a “surprise bag” and then what you get is usually around $30 of value.’
The app connected users with participating stores offering bags filled with unsold items, which were made available near closing time.
Fortitude Valley juice bar owner Tessa Boehm joined the platform two weeks prior to the Queensland launch.
‘The minimal wastage of food is what’s really attractive,’ she said, adding, ‘everything’s made with so much love.’
Boehm said her surprise bags—worth about $21 but sold for $7—had already become a hit with customers.
‘[There’s] around $21 value and the customers get it for about $7,’ she said.
She had already noticed repeat customers visiting her store through the app.
Rietveld said the benefit extended beyond reducing waste.
He said: ‘For store owners, they’re not just seeing recovery of the costs, they’re also seeing new faces come into their store.’
While preventing food from being thrown away remained the main goal, Rietveld added that households could stretch their food budgets even further by storing certain items.
‘It’s actually exactly the same quality as the product that you would have bought five minutes before as a normal paying customer,’ he said.
‘Pick up a “surprise bag” with a lot of bread and put it into the freezer [and] you’re really impacting your cost budget for that category.’
At the time of launch, more than 100 stores across Queensland had already signed up, with more expected to follow.
The app, free to download, encouraged users to reserve bags early to avoid missing out.
‘In these day and ages everything is a little bit higher in price and if you can catch a bargain anywhere it’s nice to do that,’ customer Crystal French shared.
In a previous story, we looked at another clever initiative helping Australians save on everyday essentials.
This program offered free groceries to those who took part, aiming to reduce waste and support local communities.
If you missed it, it’s well worth a read to see how you could benefit too.
With more Queenslanders now able to grab discounted meals and snacks through this new app, will it change the way you shop for food at the end of the day?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
After gaining traction in other states, a popular service is now making its debut in Queensland.
Its unique approach is already generating buzz among business owners and bargain hunters alike.
A global app designed to reduce food waste officially launched in Queensland after proving successful interstate.
Too Good To Go, dubbed the world’s largest marketplace of its kind, allowed customers to purchase leftover food from businesses at discounted prices, helping both the environment and consumer budgets.
The app had already gained 600,000 users across Australia before expanding to the Sunshine State.
It's the world's largest marketplace of its kind and now the service is officially launching in Queensland. Image source: 9News
Joost Rietveld from Too Good To Go explained the concept: ‘We connect stores with consumers where we pick up surplus food that hasn’t been sold that day.’
‘Typically you pay around let’s say $10 for a “surprise bag” and then what you get is usually around $30 of value.’
The app connected users with participating stores offering bags filled with unsold items, which were made available near closing time.
Fortitude Valley juice bar owner Tessa Boehm joined the platform two weeks prior to the Queensland launch.
‘The minimal wastage of food is what’s really attractive,’ she said, adding, ‘everything’s made with so much love.’
Boehm said her surprise bags—worth about $21 but sold for $7—had already become a hit with customers.
‘[There’s] around $21 value and the customers get it for about $7,’ she said.
She had already noticed repeat customers visiting her store through the app.
Rietveld said the benefit extended beyond reducing waste.
He said: ‘For store owners, they’re not just seeing recovery of the costs, they’re also seeing new faces come into their store.’
While preventing food from being thrown away remained the main goal, Rietveld added that households could stretch their food budgets even further by storing certain items.
‘It’s actually exactly the same quality as the product that you would have bought five minutes before as a normal paying customer,’ he said.
‘Pick up a “surprise bag” with a lot of bread and put it into the freezer [and] you’re really impacting your cost budget for that category.’
At the time of launch, more than 100 stores across Queensland had already signed up, with more expected to follow.
The app, free to download, encouraged users to reserve bags early to avoid missing out.
‘In these day and ages everything is a little bit higher in price and if you can catch a bargain anywhere it’s nice to do that,’ customer Crystal French shared.
In a previous story, we looked at another clever initiative helping Australians save on everyday essentials.
This program offered free groceries to those who took part, aiming to reduce waste and support local communities.
If you missed it, it’s well worth a read to see how you could benefit too.
With more Queenslanders now able to grab discounted meals and snacks through this new app, will it change the way you shop for food at the end of the day?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
