Foodie Save expands to Athlone

An innovative Mayo company has just launched into Athlone which allows the public to purchase perfectly good unsold surplus food from local retailers at a hugely discounted rate.

Foodie Save is the brainchild of Castlebar entrepreneur Eoin Heverin. The mobile app allows you to purchase perfectly good unsold surplus food from retailers in Athlone town at a discounted rate of up to 70%.

The Foodie Save app has recently been described as 'Just Eat for surplus food'. It aims to connect consumers (members of the public) to food retailers and presents them with buying opportunities from local food suppliers during the time window leading up to closing time, allowing them to buy perfectly good food at low rates.

The Foodie Save app is free to download and has lots of great Athlone businesses on board, including: Harvest Homemade, Corner House Bistro, Sabrosa Mexican Restaurant, Bastion Kitchen, Creggan Court Hotel, SuperValu Monksland and many more!

“Our current food retail partners love the simplicity of the Foodie Save model and we are proud to have some fantastic brands on board, however it’s the reaction from members of the public that have blown us away.

"They love the fact that they can get great quality food at fantastic prices while helping the environment and local businesses at the same time, It’s a win, win win win,” Eoin commented.

One-third of the world’s food production is wasted every year. It contributes to about 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions and Foodie Save hopes to make a difference to this problem. The app will be rolled out nationally in the coming months.

How does it work?

Consumers download the Foodie Save app for free and browse local food businesses in the town offering quality food at discounted prices.

“The ordering process is really simple, Click - Swipe - Collect. Click to buy your order, go to the store and Swipe your phone in front of a staff member and Collect your delicious food,” Eoin says.

Taking advantage of great deals is a really big win for consumers, while converting the surplus food into cash is a big benefit to businesses, the business says.

They already paid for supplies, labour, and other production costs. Recovering this loss through selling their surplus food via Foodie Save is the next big win.

Businesses also bear the cost of waste removal – using Foodie Save leads to less waste thus less disposal costs.

Perhaps the biggest win of all is the benefit to the environment. Consider all these steps in the food chain - sowing, growing, harvesting, cleaning, supplying, preparing, cooking, and presenting good food. In the 21st century we simply cannot continue to waste any of this precious resource.

Colm Mulroy of Londis Castlebar, says: “I’m delighted Foodie Save is working so well for me. It reduced food waste costs and the extra income is very welcome. It attracted new customers, and 9 out of 10 are buying groceries when getting their Foodie Save orders. One lady has purchased over 50 times between our two Londis stores.”

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has already recognised the strategic value of the Foodie Save platform and supported it with €160,000 funding.

Announcing the expansion of Foodie Save into Athlone, Eoin says: “Athlone is a fantastic town with some brilliant food businesses and the people behind those businesses could not have been more supportive of our service. We are delighted to launch Foodie Save into Athlone and are excited with the reaction to date”.

The Foodie Save team welcome inquiries from businesses within the food sector.

“I know how much work goes into preparing the food that is sold in restaurants, hotels, cafés, delis and supermarkets, but I also know how frustrating it is when some of that great food has to be thrown out at the end of the business day.

"Foodie Save monetises this surplus unsold food that these businesses usually have to discard at the end of their business day – earning their business a new revenue stream, while also reducing their refuse costs. Our service can also be fully automated so that there is no extra work for staff members. There are no catches – no contract – no sign-up fee. We simply take a percentage of the sales,” ends Foodie Save founder Eoin Heverin.