Innovative food app launches in Perth in bid to stop waste

Perth Now

28-04-2025

Food destined for the bin will instead be sold as heavily discounted 'surprise bags' to customers keen for a bargain via new app Too Good to Go, which officially launches in Perth on April 29.
Started a decade ago in Copenhagen by a group of young entrepreneurs looking for a solution to the massive amount of food wastage at Danish buffet restaurants, Too Good to Go has now spread to 19 countries with the app hitting Melbourne and Sydney in August last year.
Perth is the third Australian city for Too Good to Go, which boasts 100 million users and 175,000 business partners globally.
In the past nine years, the company claims to have saved 200 million meals worldwide by enabling food businesses to sell surplus stock for around a third of the price.
The app, which has already accumulated 500,000 users in Australia with many posting their surprise bag hauls on social media, rolled out in Perth a few weeks ago before its official launch here later this month.
It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
One of the first businesses to sign on is Crumbs Patisserie, which has stores in Applecross and Osborne Park.
Owner Julia Buri said throwing out unsold pastries leaves her 'devastated', so anything that reduces food waste is welcome.
'From an environmental point of view, it's really gut-wrenching to see all that food go in the bin,' the gymnast turned pastry chef said.
'There's only so much we can bring home to family and friends or eat ourselves.' Crumbs Patisserie owner and head pastry chef Julia Buri. Credit: Danella Bevis / The West Australian
Other local businesses to sign up with Too Good to Go include Roll'd, Jamaica Blue, Muffin Break, Sushi Sushi and Adore Bakery.
Crumbs Patisserie sells a surprise bag of sweet and savoury pastries usually worth $30 for $10, with around $3 going to Too Good to Go.
Ms Buri also pays an annual sign-on fee of $68.
Since joining Too Good to Go in early April, Crumbs has sold more than 80 surprise bags in total.
'It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,' she said. 'We're not necessarily making money off this. This is more to cover our food waste costs.'
Ms Buri, who trained at Heston Blumenthal's Michelin-starred UK restaurant The Fat Duck, said she used Too Good to Go to save on food when she lived in 'expensive' London.
'People love a bargain,' she said. 'Cost-of-living is only rising, and people are having to adjust and get thrifty. It is fantastic from a consumer point of view.'
After moving back to Australia, Ms Buri opened her first Crumbs patisserie in Applecross in 2021.
She said it is 'fantastic' that Too Good to Go is finally launching in Perth. Too Good to Go's Australian director Joost Rietveld. Credit: Frank van Beek
Australians waste more than 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, or enough to fill Optus Stadium 10 times over.
Too Good to Go's Australian director Joost Rietveld said that 40 per cent of all food produced worldwide is wasted.
'Too Good to Go saves four meals per second, while 80,000 still go to waste,' he added.
The company has around 1500 employees worldwide, including a small team in Australia that is set to grow with the addition of a Perth office.