OLIO arrives in Cambridge to join the fight against food waste

Following successful roll-outs across a number of UK cities in recent months, food sharing app OLIO has now launched in Cambridge. Smartphone users throughout the city now have access to the app providing local people and businesses with a simple way to reduce the food they waste.

 

Created by a Cambridge University graduate, OLIO is a free app that connects neighbours with each other and with local independent shops so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could include food nearing its use-by date from shops, cafes and markets; spare vegetables from the allotment; cakes from an amateur baker; or groceries from household fridges when people go away or move home.

To access the app, users simply snap a picture of their items and add them to OLIO. Neighbours then receive customised alerts and can request anything that takes their fancy, and arrange pick-up from home, the store, an OLIO Drop Box, or another agreed location.

The business launches in Cambridge at a time of rising concern at the impact of food waste with local bodies and students running initiatives against food waste, such as the recent launch of The Cambridge University Foodbank Society.

The social, economic and environmental case for action is compelling. Globally, a third of all food produced is wasted (FAO), and in the UK, households – which are responsible for half of all food waste – collectively bin over £12.5bn of edible food per year, at a cost of £700 to the average family (WRAP).

The inspiration for the app came from the early experiences of co-founders Tessa Cook and Saasha Celestial-One, entrepreneurs raised in rural families witnessing the scandal of food waste close up. Cambridge graduate Cook grew up on a farm, effectively seeing a third of her family’s hard work go to waste, while Celestial-One is the daughter of Iowa hippies and equally passionate about the issue. Since launching in December 2015, OLIO has been used over 210,000 times and featured twice by Apple as ‘Best new app’ in the App Store. OLIO was also the first retail technology start-up Sainsbury’s partnered with on their ‘Waste Less, Save More’ initiative.

“We’re constantly looking at how to make Cambridge greener, and we have a fantastic opportunity to do this by tackling food waste. People are often too shy or suspicious of accepting something for free, but food sharing is a great way to get to know your neighbours and other people in your community. Initiatives like this are breaking down barriers, and the city is ready for OLIO to ramp up the food sharing revolution”, commented Rebecca Scambler, local OLIO ambassador and designer.

Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, said: “While so many go hungry, it is simply not acceptable that good food ends up in the bin. So it's great to see an answer to the problem of food waste that is generated in the household and the high street. OLIO not only saves food from going uneaten but brings communities together. I look forward to welcoming OLIO to Cambridge.”

The issue of food waste is also costly for local stores and governments, and ranks as one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. OLIO seeks to address these problems by combining cutting-edge mobile technology with the power of the sharing economy and an engaged local community.

To mark the launch, OLIO is hosting a Pot Luck Picnic on Saturday 18th June from 2-4pm on Jesus Green, Cambridge. The OLIO team can’t wait to bring the service to a city with such an appetite for food waste reduction already established. “Cambridge has a fantastic thriving community of people who are passionate about food waste and changing the world. As a graduate of the University, the city feels a perfect match for OLIO, and I can’t wait to bring it here” explained Tessa Cook, co-founder of OLIO.

To attend the Pot Luck Picnic please register on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1103664449705810/

 

How to use OLIO

  • To make food available, users open the app, add the item with a photo, description, price (if applicable, although the vast majority is free), and when it’s available for pick-up.
  • To access food, users browse the menu of available items, request what they want and arrange collection via private messaging.
  • To offer more ways to collect the items, we have introduced Drop Boxes in local stores, allowing people to deposit the items there for collection by the neighbour at their convenience.

The inspiration for OLIO

The inspiration for OLIO came from two female entrepreneurs whose families have first-hand experience of this scandal. Tessa Cook is a farmer’s daughter who effectively saw a third of her family’s hard work discarded daily, while Saasha Celestial-One is the daughter of Iowa hippies and an avid freecycler equally passionate about cutting waste.

Their initial research included an OLIO / YouGov poll of 1,610 adults. It revealed that 86% of people were ‘bothered’ by throwing away their edible food, while two-thirds feel that households are primarily responsible for addressing the problem of food waste, followed in second place by businesses (14%).

Now they’re doing something about it with simple, user-friendly technology.

OLIO also recently gained recognition at the SPARKies technology awards as the People’s Choice for the best tech company in the South West of England, and won the Good Award for the best use of technology for ‘doing good’.

Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More campaign

  • OLIO was the first retail technology start-up Sainsbury’s partnered with on their ‘Waste Less, Save More’ initiative.
  • Sainsbury’s launched its £1m initiative in the South Derbyshire town, Swadlincote, as part of its five-year programme to tackle the issue of food waste. Sainsbury’s is trialling the latest retail technologies in the region over the next 12 months to help shoppers reduce the amount they throw away.
  •  Using OLIO, Swadlincote residents can post details and photos of surplus food they want to offer to others. Real-time messaging and drop boxes located in local businesses, including Sainsbury’s stores, allow for speedy swapping.

More information available here: https://wastelesssavemore.sainsburys.co.uk/whats-happening/swadlincote/blog/revolutionary-free-app-to-help-swadlincote-save-food.

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Contacts

Marlin PR: OLIO@marlinpr.com, 020 7932 5580

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