Telecharger.com has selected three anti-waste applications on Android and iPhone to recover unsold food at low prices.
Each year in France, ten million tonnes of consumable food ends up in the trash cans. An appalling waste for the entire food chain, from producer to consumer, including processing and distribution chains. To help everyone fight against this massive phenomenon, Telecharger.com has selected three mobile applications to collect unsold food at reduced prices from small traders and supermarkets.
Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go actively fights against food waste by partnering with major brands, local businesses and restaurants to allow you to recover unsold items at preferential rates. By using geolocation, the application displays on a map all the partner establishments of the initiative. A color code makes it easier to identify stocks that are available or out of stock.
Since Too Good To Go sells unsold products, you don’t know in advance which products you will collect at the end of the day. The businesses manage to compose baskets of a certain value that you acquire in promotion. To facilitate and secure payments, you register your bank card and pay the amounts due via the application.
It often happens that partner businesses are taken by storm at the opening of sales. To be the fastest and not to miss your basket, you can add the signs of your choice to your favorites. Too Good To Go alerts you as soon as restocking is available by push notifications.
The +:
+ Concept easy to learn
+ Interesting promotions on unsold items
+ Payment via the app
The – :
– Counters reset at midnight
– Some traders do not play the game (quantity and quality of baskets)
Download Too Good To Go for Android (Free)
Download Too Good To Go for iPhone (Free)
OptiMiam
OptiMiam can be presented as the little sister of Too Good To Go. The application lists partner businesses applying discounts on unsold food of the day. There are also brands organizing flash promotions at any time of the day. Most of the products affected by these anti-waste measures are prepared meals such as sandwiches, salads or sushi. You already know what you will eat tonight.
For your convenience, OptiMiam indicates for each brand the number of potions available, the promo time remaining and the times for collecting the baskets. You pay for your purchases by credit card, directly from the application which instantly generates a voucher to show the merchant.
The OptiMiam application is regularly updated on iPhone. On the other hand, no maintenance has been carried out on the Android app since April 2017. Remember to check with the merchants listed to find out if they are still service partners before ordering from them.
The +:
+ Intuitive handling
+ Flash promotions during the day in addition to reductions on unsold food
+ Payment via the app
The – :
– The Android app has not been updated since 2017: check with the merchants listed if they are still partners
– Available in very few cities
– Impossible to visualize all the partner traders on the complete map of France
Download OptiMiam for Android (Free)
Download OptiMiam for iPhone (Free)
Zero-Waste
Zéro-Gâchis helps supermarkets intelligently manage their unsold items. Thanks to geolocation, you can spot the brands participating in the initiative and located nearby. Select the one of your choice, and you get the list of promotional products whose use date is about to expire.
Here, no purchase via the app. Go to the store and find the partner Zéro-Gâchis corner in which the unsold products referenced by the service are grouped together. First come, first served ; remember that some products have potentially been purchased by other consumers in the meantime.
Zero-Waste is based in part on community contributions. In addition to the participating brands, the application lists the supermarkets present in the city. You are prompted to indicate whether or not you have already been able to find discounts on products whose use-by date has expired. The objective is to enrich the partner database and further fight against food waste.
The +:
+ Initiative which officially involves supermarkets
+ Regularly updated product lists
+ Clear and efficient operation
+ Important participatory dimension
The – :
– Still too few partner brands
– Interface lacks ergonomics
Download Zero Waste for Android (Free)
Verdict
The concept of Zéro-Gâchis is attractive but remains experimental with a catalog of partner brands that is too brief.
Of the three applications selected, Too Good To Go fulfills its contract the best. The unsold baskets are varied and often offered at attractive prices. Beware, however, of the scrambling traders who will not play the game.