Too Good To Go: France's First Anti-Food Waste App

Bob’s Bake Shop, Rebecca Genet

French cities have welcomed bike powered food delivery services such as Deliveroo and Foodora with open arms in recent years, so much so that the sight of swiftly peddling employees darting in and out of traffic has become part of these cities’ scenery. The latest newcomer to France’s takeaway food scene proves there’s room in the market for innovation and activism. Too Good To Go is an app with a mission: to reduce food waste in major cities across Europe while connecting consumers with local businesses.

Bob’s Bake Shop. Rebecca Genet/Café Chilango, Jean-Marie Heidinger

Founded by a group of expats in Denmark, Too Good To Go brings together the convenience of online ordering and payment with the opportunity to enjoy what some of the city’s most exciting restaurants have to offer at a reduced price- all while doing your part to reduce food waste! The lack of a delivery team means that diners must pick up the food themselves, an act which the Too Good To Go team says helps create a link between eateries with excess food and their customers.

Ten Belles; Café Chilango, Jean-Marie Heidinger

The concept is simple, upon opening the app on your phone, participating restaurants in your area are located and you can immediately browse what they have to offer. Restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and other food businesses will propose food that would otherwise go to waste on the Too Good To Go app, which you can order and pay for online and then go pick up yourself at a set time (usually after a mealtime rush or right before closing time). Upon ordering, customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable containers with them in order to take their order home and further cut down on waste.

Café Chilango, Jean-Marie Heidinger

The website and app, which launched in June 2016, are slowly expanding their reach across Europe, with a presence in Denmark, the UK, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Co-founder Lucie Basch is responsible for bringing the service to her homeland, where Too Good To Go has more than 300 partners in six cities in France, including Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Nantes. The early success of the application is due not only to the original concept, but also the quality of the partnered establishments. In Paris, foodie favorites such as Ten Belles, Café Chilango, Boneshaker Doughnuts, and Bob’s Bake Shop participate in the service, offering different fresh baked goods and home made meals each day.

Boneshaker Doughnuts; Café Chilango, Jean-Marie Heidinger

Too Good To Go is perfect for the eco-conscious eater with flexible meal times and the time to go pick up their order themselves. The concept, which has yet to arrive in North America, is representative of Europe’s engagement to cut down on food waste in the coming years. Too Good To Go is in good company in France, which has increasingly passed legislation rallying around “anti-gaspillage,” or zero waste, initiatives.

Bob’s Bake Shop, Rebecca Genet

Café Chilango, Jean-Marie Heidinger

Written by Emily Dilling for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, London, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven In.

WRITTEN BY

Emily Dilling

Emily Dilling is a France based writer and author of My Paris Market Cookbook: A Culinary Tour of French Flavors and Seasonal Recipes. In 2005 Emily moved to Paris from her native California and began exploring the cities markets, restaurants, and cafés. In 2010 she founded the blog Paris Paysanne, where she writes about her favorite addresses and artisans in the city. Emily currently lives in the Loir-et-Cher region of France, where she writes and works in the grapevines.