Three food waste tech companies to watch

Among the systems that must change to create a sustainable future, food is one we all influence daily. Everyone interacts with the food through shopping, cooking or dining out. Consequently, people feel a sense of agency when it comes to food. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to choose what we eat to some degree, and most of us feel responsible for avoiding food waste. People inherently dislike throwing food out, and with good reason: For most of human history we’ve lived in food scarcity, meaning that preventing waste was a matter of survival.

It’s no surprise that people see tackling food waste as a priority. YouGov in October 2023 reported that 78% in the UK agree that brands should ‘implement sustainable sourcing practices to reduce food waste’. More than six in ten said they have often taken direct actions like reducing food waste or supporting food banks. Despite high awareness and support for addressing food waste, it remains a problem of huge magnitude: A third of food produced is wasted while food loss and waste account for 38% of total energy usage in the global food system. Food system innovation is essential for tackling the climate crisis. It is also vital to address food insecurity: 9.2% of the world’s population found themselves in a state of chronic hunger in 2022.

Multiple climate tech companies have developed innovative solutions to the stubborn problem of food waste. Three that stand out are Winnow, Too Good To Go and Divert. All three operate at the intersection of cost-saving and environmental impact. This allows them to avoid the difficulties often facing climate tech — reliance on additional capital and longer timelines than comparable non-climate companies.

Winnow — reducing food waste in the catering industry

Winnow, a global AI leader in commercial food waste solutions, is aimed at the catering industry.

Problem — Up to 15% of food in the catering sector goes to waste — at huge financial cost. It’s tough for restaurant owners and chefs to minimise waste, as there is little visibility on which foods are wasted.

Solution — Winnow makes waste visible, measurable and addressable. AI-enabled food waste tracking pinpoints which foods are wasted. A weighing scale beneath the kitchen bin and an image-capture camera together measure the type and volume of food thrown away. Software translates this into a suite of actionable reports, supported by training for staff. Crucially, the system can be implemented without the need for operational changes in kitchens.

Results — Winnow has been adopted by major businesses including Ikea and Hilton. The company states it has saved 36 million meals and avoided 61,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually.

Winnow reached Series C funding in June 2023, indicating it has progressed well into scale-up territory, and is likely ready to enter further markets and launch further products.

What next? — By offering both cost-saving and environmental benefits, Winnow has grown rapidly. If the company could link its data to catering business’s ordering systems, this could further close the loop on food waste. As much food waste occurs in the home, a domestic version of the product could appeal to consumers keen to cut waste and food bills.

Too Good To Go — redirecting surplus in food service and retail

Too Good To Go matches people with food left over at the end of the trading day, allowing consumers to ‘save the planet at closing time’.

Problem — Retailers and restaurants want to avoid ending the day with surplus food, but eliminating waste is impossible.

Solution — Too Good to Go redistributes food that would otherwise go to waste through an app enabling consumers to pick up surprise bags of leftover food nearby. The company has partnerships with brands including Greggs and Starbucks. Consumers enjoy food at a third of its usual price, while partners turn surplus food into extra income with minimal effort.

Results — Too Good to Go scores an enviable 4.9 stars out of 5 in Apple’s store, based on >350,000 reviews, showing that consumers strongly appreciate the service. The company is now profitable and turns over 102 million ? annually.

Since 2016, Too Good To Go reports that it’s saved almost 200 million meals, equivalent to avoiding CO2e emissions from flying 100,000 passengers around the world.

What next? — Partnerships with cities, as well as food retailers, could be a growth strategy for Too Good to Go that would prevent even more waste.

Divert

Divert describes itself as ‘protecting food as the valuable resource that it is’.

Problem — Food can be wasted at many points in the value chain: In an agricultural setting, where food goes bad before harvest, and in retail or catering where excess food ends up in landfills.

Solution — Divert provides distinct solutions for different stages of the food lifecycle. When it comes to dealing with waste, the company provides reverse logistics to collect excess food. This can then be donated, or if inedible converted into a slurry which is ultimately turned into electricity.

Recognising that waste prevention is better than cure, Divert uses its Radio-Frequency Identification tracking platform to track store-specific food waste, enabling stores to order less of the foods that are destined for the bin.

Results — Divert commands a high degree of confidence among investors: It was reported in March 2023 that Divert had received over $1 billion in combined financing, made up of equity funding and structured project finance — among the largest sums raised in the food-waste space.

The company states it has donated 10 million meals to the food insecure and cut greenhouse emissions by processing 2.3 billion pounds of wasted food.

What next? — Divert will continue to innovate its product as the food waste AI space becomes more competitive. Afresh is a growing AI platform which not only measures food waste in retail but auto-optimizes forecasting and ordering.

In conclusion

Given the contribution of food waste to climate change and food insecurity, further system-level interventions are needed: Some stages of the food lifecycle are not yet covered by technologies — solutions for reducing food waste at home are lacking. Policy intervention is also needed. In South Korea sending food to landfill has been banned for years.

Even so, Winnow, Too Good to Go and Divert have made great inroads into food waste. They have also demonstrated that preventing and diverting waste can be profitable, with customers’ investment in their technologies outweighed by financial gains from waste diversion or prevention. All three companies are expected to grow and continue to innovate their products to cover more points along the food value chain.