The world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, Too Good To Go, is doubling its Australian footprint with the service now available in Sydney.

In August, the Danish-born certified B-Corp launched its Australian operations in Melbourne and since launch, Too Good To Go users have saved over 25,000 meals. In Australia, over 7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted annually, 70% of which is still edible.

The free mobile app allows users to search for surplus food, select a store and purchase a ‘surprise bag’ of food – which would have otherwise been thrown to waste – at a reduced price from a range of bakeries, cafes, restaurants, grocery stores and other food businesses.

Users arrive within the pick-up window that the store sets, show their in-app receipt and receive their surprise bag to enjoy.  

Adding to the 150 partners in Melbourne, local Sydney favourites like It’s Recess, Sweet Chick and TonTon Bread have joined the platform.

Too Good To Go country director of Australia, Joost Rietveld said launching in Sydney is an important step in the company’s goal to help halve Australia’s food waste by 2030.

“We have seen an incredible response from Australians so far, with over 130,000 people downloading the app, eager to make a difference and start saving food. We are calling on all Sydneysiders to join the movement and make an impact on the growing food waste problem,” he said.

“We have seen a considerable response from businesses across Melbourne and Sydney, eager to also reduce their food surplus by joining the platform. We know Australia has a strong commitment to sustainability and the food business industry is stepping up to do its bit, making changes to reduce their impact on the food waste issue.”

Too Good To Go has attracted some of Australia’s most notable food businesses such as Bakers Delight, Harris Farm Markets and Sushi Sushi.

Bakers Delight joint CEO, Elise Gillespie said, “We’ve introduced a number of initiatives in recent years to help manage our food waste responsibly, so we’re enthusiastic about trialling the Too Good To Go concept in 30 of our Sydney-based bakeries. We believe this initiative will be a great way for our bakeries to reduce food wastage, while delivering a bit of extra delight to our customers at the end of the day.”

Harris Farm Markets head of sustainability, Kate Haselhof commented, “Sustainability has always been at the heart of Harris Farm Markets, and we’re dedicated to partnering with like-minded organisations to create shopping experiences that don’t cost the earth. While we’ve made significant strides in reducing and diverting food waste, our new partnership with Too Good To Go allows us to rescue food and put it back into the hands of the community.”

Sushi Sushi CEO, Stephen Anders said, “Every Sushi Sushi meal should bring joy to our customers rather than contribute to waste. We proudly set the sustainability benchmarks for the sushi category, and our partnership with Too Good To Go is a great example of how we prioritise reducing what goes to landfill.

“Our sushi is made fresh in-store daily and this partnership ensures that our sushi is enjoyed by as many people as possible. It also allows us to inspire our customers to join us in creating a more sustainable future, one meal at a time.”