Introduction
We like food. We also like bargains. And we’re always interested in finding both at the same time. Not just “cheap eats”, though sometimes a street vendor’s taco is just what we’re after. No, we’re thinking about good food that’s inexpensive.
And it’s even better if, when we buy this food, we help make the world a better place.
Impossible? Nope.
That’s exactly what we got when we discovered Too Good To Go.
What’s this?
Too Good To Go is a service with an app that lets you buy surplus food at a discount from restaurants, grocery stores, and other merchants – food that otherwise would go to waste, The app is simple to use, the food is inexpensive, and the “Surprise Bags” we’ve bought have mostly been, well… surprising.
Behind the app is a fast growing company with over 1,300 employees who are on a mission to eliminate food waste by taking action on many levels. The more we have learned – the more we’ve “peeled the onion” – the more fascinated we’ve become.
How we learned about it
Almost every day we go to the Jardim Mário Soares, also known as Jardim do Campo Grande, one of the largest city parks in Lisbon. This is Sox’s new frisbee playground. No matter the day, there are always people jogging, riding bikes, walking their dogs, or just sitting on a bench, enjoying the sunshine.
One day we saw a couple sitting on a nearby bench, eating pastries out of a small cardboard box. We were curious, and snuck a look in the box as we walked by. This was no ordinary take-out box. Mike approached the couple, apologized for interrupting them, and asked where they had gotten the box.
The man pointed to a luxury hotel across the street and said, “It came from the hotel over there.”
Mike commented on how nice the pastries looked, and the woman said, “Yes, and they only cost 4 euros! We ordered it through Too Good To Go. Do you know about it?”
Mike said he did not. The woman handed the box to her partner and pulled out her phone. She flipped through a couple screens, then showed Mike the icon. She opened the app and explained that the hotel sold the pastries at the end of their breakfast service. It was good, fresh food, but would have to be discarded. You could order a box the day before and pick it up the next day as breakfast ended.
Mike thanked them for talking with him. We came right home, downloaded the app, and ordered a box.
The next day, at 11:30am, Mary went into the hotel and picked up our “Surprise Box”. We didn’t know what to expect, but had high hopes.
What was in the box? More on that in a moment.
A bit about the company
Too Good To Go was started in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2015 by five friends in university. The story is told that one of them had the idea to start the business after seeing leftover food on a buffet. They enlisted some local restaurants and launched a website in late 2015, followed shortly by their first mobile application. Their early customer base was largely hungry students looking for a cheap meal.
The concept gained traction, and they quickly expanded into other European countries. By 2017 they were in 7 countries. As the business grew and became more complex, they sought outside investment and brought on a seasoned entrepreneur, Mette Lykke, as CEO.
Between 2019 and 2022 usage of the 2G2G app grew from 9.5 million to 62.9 million users. Today they have over 165,000 food partners, including major chains like Carrefour, Aldi UK, Starbucks, Morrisons, and Costa Coffee.
They now operate in 17 countries across western Europe, the UK. Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
So how does it benefit the world?
Too Good To Go is a certified B Corp, a type of company that balances profit with purpose and meets high standards for social impact and environmental performance. They have a singular focus on eliminating food waste. This supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to cut global food waste in half by 2030.
Beyond encouraging the sale of surplus food, the company sponsors a variety of programs to educate students and consumers about ways to reduce food waste at home.
This includes an initiative called “Look, Smell, Taste, Don’t Waste” that advocates a move away from “sell by” or “best before” dates to a new common-sense label that encourages consumers to use their judgement before throwing foods away.
They also see reducing food waste as a way of combating climate change. Their logic goes like this:
- Globally, almost 40% of all food goes to waste.
- Food waste is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions – more than the entire aviation industry.
- Every meal served in a “Surprise Bag” saves roughly 2.5kg of CO2e – enough to fully charge 440 smartphones.
CEO Lykke recently announced that 2G2G have saved 200 million meals from going to waste.
Our experience
We have ordered through Too Good To Go on five occasions. Here are our quick reviews of each Surprise Bag.
The price we paid for each order is roughly 1/3 of the regular selling price. This is standard across all Too Good To Go meals.
Breakfast from NH Hotel
As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, our first order came from the NH Hotel in Lisbon. We weren’t sure what to expect, but based on the comments of the couple in the park, we were optimistic. What we received exceeded our expectations.
We paid €4.14 and received a box that contained bread, pastries, a portion of scrambled eggs, ham, and some cheese.
There was enough there for each of us to have a light brunch and still have leftovers for the next day.
Lunch from Saboria Chinese Restaurant
Saboria is a small Chinese restaurant a short walk from our apartment. Mary ordered a meal to be picked up at the end of their lunch service. The price was €3.99.
Image credit: bussola.pt
They filled a container with items straight from the steam table. We each enjoyed a light meal with tastes we’d not had in a while. Now that we’ve tried their food, we’ll visit Saboria again.
Lunch from Cinnamon Restaurante Indiano
This was another opportunity to sample the food from a local restaurant. Cinnamon is located in the Saldanha neighborhood, about 15 minutes away.
We paid €4.99 for a meal that was cooked to order while Mary waited. Curry is one of our favorite foods, and this one was good, served with basmati rice and two pieces of naan.
A big surprise at Mini Preço
Mini Preço is a chain of grocery stores that we’ve shopped in all across Portugal. From the outside, they look like small convenience stores. But once you get inside, you find they carry almost everything you would find in a larger supermarket – just fewer choices in each category.
(You can’t really see him in this photo, but just inside the store is a beagle, tied to a post by his owner who entered the store to shop. It’s common practice for owners to tie their dogs up outside stores. This is the first time we’d seen one tied indoors.)
We weren’t certain what we might get from a grocery store, but that’s part of the fun. Mary paid €3.99 and came out with a big grin and a large shopping bag full of items. All but one were at their “sell by” date, the other was one day away.
We got a pre-made chicken salad with cheese, 2 bags of salad mix, 2 packages of sliced ham for sandwiches, and 2 six-packs of yogurt.
We ate the premade salad with ham sandwiches for supper and enjoyed the other items for several days afterwards.
Patries from Pastelaria Luanda
Pastelaria Luanda is a bakery and restaurant located less than 10 minutes from our apartment. Mary ordered a surprise bag from them to be picked up at 7:30pm.
Mike went to pick up the bag. It was his first time doing so, and he was fumbling with the app while the lady behind the counter filled the bag. It seemed to him like she just kept stuffing pastries in there.
We enjoyed these at breakfast for several days.
Our orders by the numbers
According to the Too Good To Go app on Mary’s phone:
- We ordered 5 times.
- We received €60 worth of food (at retail).
- We paid €20.
- We saved €40
- We saved 29 pounds of C02e.
Conclusion
You’re probably familiar with the common warning about shopping online: If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
But in this case, it really is almost too good to be true. We see it as a big “win/win” opportunity.
There are so many big challenges in the world, and it’s often difficult to know if the actions we take make any difference. With Too Good To Go, we feel confident that we’re doing our small part to reduce food waste and impact climate change. By using the app, we get the chance to try local restaurants with minimal risk. We’re supporting local businesses and at the same time helping Too Good To Go pursue their broader agenda of education and activism.
And why shouldn’t making a difference taste good?
If you have the chance, check it out. If it’s not in your city yet, have a look when you travel. Maybe you can do a bench picnic. Just watch out for curious onlookers!
Until next time / Até a próxima vez
Mary and Mike
The Cook and The Writer
Where have you found unexpected value lately? Give us a pointer with a note in the comments below or via the Contact Us form.
Obrigado..very cool. Was the couple that initially turned you on to this Lisboans or expats/foreigners?
Hi TJ,
I think the couple were visitors here. They spoke English, but with a northern European accent. I thought maybe Netherlands or Belgium. And I think they were staying at the hotel where they bought the box.
Have a great week!
Mike
thanks .. was curious.
we used the service for a surprise box on friday. local padaria near our apt. 9e box for 2.99e. certainly well worth it .. but, actually too much for 2 people. will try one of the supermarkets or restaurants in the future.
great discovery … muito obrigado.
Mike and Mary –
Oodles of thanks for sharing this gem. In September I’m spending 2.5 weeks in Stockholm and Helsinki, and exploring nearby towns. One thing I’ve not done in my travels is tried a lot of restaurants, simply because of the time and expense dining out requires. This is the perfect solution. Now I can have food adventures that don’t involve eating at 7-Elevens (in Copenhagen their sandwiches are fabulous!) or Lidl grocery store pre-made fare. You cannot imagine how much you’ve added to my travel life in sharing this info. I’m grateful.
Xo,
Nan
Hi Nan,
We had lunch today with some friends who visited Stockholm last year and loved it. I hope you have a great time on your trip. One article I read said that 2G2G had started a pilot program with Coop Sweden last September, with stores in Stockholm participating. By the time you get there, I’ll bet they’ve expanded even further. Please let us know your experience…and send pictures!
All the best,
Mike
I’ve already downloaded the app and found several options near where I’m staying in Stockholm and in the surrounding areas. In Finland – nada. But I will definitely enjoy what 2G2G offers in Sweden. 🙂
I love this post. Now, if I lived there and did the app, I’d be big as a house. I don’t know how you two stay so skinny:)
Hey John,
I don’t think either of us would say we’re skinny, but one thing that works for us is that we walk somewhere every day. The metro and the buses get us only so far, so we’re always hoofing it at one end or the other of any trip out – and usually at both ends!
Thanks for your note!
Mike
That’s so cool. Never heard of anything like it, except restaurants near us do donate to soup kitchens so the food doesn’t go to waste. Keep on enjoying!
Hi Alice,
As you and others have noted, there are many ways that organizations can help tackle food waste and food insecurity. We’re happy to hear about any of them.
Our best to you and Earl,
Mike
This is fantastic Mary & Mike!! I loaded the app, but sadly, no locations participating here in Wichita or Kansas City yet. We’ll try it in our travels to cut costs & emissions!!
Hey Richard,
One article I read said that in the US, 2G2G is operating in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (and NY metro area), Philadelphia, Portland (both Maine and Washington), Providence, Sacramento, San Diego, San Franciso, Seattle and Washington DC. There was no date on that info, so they could have already expanded. Let us know if and when you’re able to try it out.
Happy travels,
Mike
Thanks for the great post. I immediately downloaded the app but unfortunately nothing in VRSA. However, Denise is now volunteering at Refood…a charity that collects food from supermarkets, restaurants, and schools at night and then creates family boxes which are then picked up by needy families the next day. Both approaches are excellent!
Refood sounds fantastic. Good for Denise.
Way cool! We need to give it a try! BTW, remind me to tell you about our “connection” with Mário Soares–the man, not the jardim!
Hi David,
Thanks for your note. Let us know your experience with 2G2G. There are a lot of opportunities in your neighborhood. And yes, the next time we sit down for coffee or whisky you can tell me your Mário story. He’ll be a prominent figure in a future post.
Have a great week!
Mike