The surplus food app where you can bag M&S, GAIL’s and YO! for a fraction of the price
There is a little-known food app for big-name brands, including Marks & Spencer’s Food Hall, Pret A Manger, Greggs, YO!, and more, to offload unsold delights at wallet-friendly prices—and it’s free to download.
Statistics suggest the cost of a shop is rising exponentially; over the four weeks to 4 October, price increases across ranges accelerated to an annual rate of 2.5 percent, as per Worldpanel by Numerator.
“With the autumn budget fast approaching, the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on the minds of shoppers,” warned Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator.
"Until the chancellor sets out his plans, we expect that caution to carry on showing up at the till, with shoppers leaning more heavily on promotions to keep their grocery spend under control.”
Advert
Those who are feeling the pinch may be interested to know there’s a food-saving app where you can pick up groceries from Morrisons and dishes from your favourite restaurants, such as Pizza Express, for a fraction of the usual price.
The catch? What you get inside the bag is a complete mystery.
Too Good To Go app
If you’ve never heard of the Too Good To Go app before, then you’re in luck: it’s a free mobile marketplace where consumers connect with local cafes, bakeries, and well-known brands to purchase surplus food at a heavy discount.
One scenario where Too Good to Go excels: Starbucks is set to shut up shop in the next couple of hours, but it still has a bounty of baked goods and freshly made sandwiches.
Instead of binning them, staff pack them into a mystery box, post the ‘Surprise Bag’ on the app at a much lower price than usual, and wait for a customer to rescue it.
Shoppers then reserve the product and head into the store at the designated time.
Not only do they save some serious wonga, but they potentially discover a treat they didn’t know they needed until now.
Meanwhile, the brand avoids food waste while still making a little bit of money in the process. What’s not to love?
Businesses operating on the Too Good To Go app
A plethora of well-known names are currently selling on the Too Good To Go app, including Honi Poke, Yo! Sushi, GAIL's and Waitrose.
M&S is the most recent addition, having partnered with the platform in late September.
Over 350 M&S Food stores now offer Too Good To Go Surprise Bags made up of surplus bakery products, ‘giving customers the chance to collect quality food at a reduced price at the end of the day directly from in store bakeries’, as per a press release.
Each of the M&S Surprise Bags includes three to four bakery products at a minimum retail price of £10.20 for just £3.80. Customers can pick these up one hour before their local store closes.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with M&S to help make their surplus food available to even more customers across the UK and Ireland. Food waste is a huge challenge, but partnerships like this show how simple it can be for businesses and consumers to take action together,” said Chelsea Kerr, Managing Director at Too Good To Go UK & Ireland.
“By giving food that might otherwise go unsold another chance to be enjoyed, we’re making it easier for people to save good food while also getting great value. M&S is a much-loved brand across the UK, so we’re excited to be working together to make saving food from going to waste a simple and accessible part of everyday life for even more people.”
Other big names on the app include ASDA, Tim Hortons, The Bagel Factory, and Subway.
Praise for Too Good To Go
Considering Too Good To Go is the world’s largest app for surplus food, it’s understandable that there’s a lot of praise for the brand online.
“I used to use it a lot when I lived in Italy, I think it’s worth it if you’re more than 1 person because they tend to give you a looooot of food,” one X user wrote.
“I love it. My faves are sushi restaurants and the specialty/prepared food bags from Whole Foods. They sell out quick though. Have to set your favourites and turn on notifications,” a second said.
Others have been sharing their hauls, including one social media user who rescued a bag from Cooplands Bakery.
“Well had a Too Good To Go bag from @Cooplands, not bad for £3.30 , 2 x cheese beans pasties, 2 x lamb and mint pasties, 4 x ginger square, cheese savoury roll, chocolate cake, toffee cake, 6 bread buns.”
“M&S bakery have started doing Too Good To Go bags… over a tenners worth of stuff for £3.80. Bargain,” said someone else, alongside a picture of their haul.
It featured two croissants, two chocolate muffins, a pack of doughnuts, two chunky milk chocolate and cherry cookies, and a loaf of bread.
Someone else said they paid the equivalent of £5.08 for 10 boxes of sushi, while someone in France picked up almost 30 pastries and sandwiches for €8.90 (£7.53).
Topics: UK Food, News, Restaurants and bars
Ella Scott