As the experts in virtual food brands, we frequently write about amazing technology enabling food franchise operators to maximise their operations. From systems to help with nutrition and allergens to improving your in-house ops and merging delivery platform orders… there’s an app for that.
But what about the conscious consumer?
Ethical and sustainable approaches as well as healthy eating are more important now than ever. Consumers (rightly) place a premium on food that’s good for you and good for the planet. Well the great news is there’s plenty of apps to help with that too!
Here are our four top picks for eco-friendly and sustainable shopping and dining.
Let’s dive straight in…
Refill
Refill is an app that connects conscious consumers with the best places to eat, drink and shop – all with less waste. It’s part of an award-winning campaign from City to Sea, aimed at helping people to live with less plastic. It’s completely free to download and provides access to a global network of places that focus on reduce, reuse and refill.
From your morning coffee to takeaway deliveries and shopping with less plastic, Refill puts the power in your fingertips.
Oddbox
Whilst Oddbox is primarily a website, they do have an app available for their customers. Oddbox helps you to “eat good and do good” by rescuing fruit and vegetables otherwise destined for landfill. From wonky carrots to curvy cucumbers, they are tackling food waste one fruit and veg delivery at a time.
By liaising directly with farmers, Oddbox utilise what’s in season or what’s plentiful as well as offering consumers a massive array of choice. After all, what’s better for the planet is better for your plate.
SMASHapp
SMASHapp helps you to save money and stay healthy! They are the go-to app for affordable, healthier food and have some major food brands on their books. Including Leon, Wahaca, Yo Sushi and Hello Fresh, partners offer customers money-off healthy food options. It was initially aimed at young customers (those under 25), but the app was such a success that SMASH 25+ was born soon after!
If you run a virtual food brand offering healthy alternatives, this could be a fantastic option for both operators and customers alike.
OLIO
OLIO is the number one free sharing app – where you’ll find millions of users giving away food and other household items to help fight waste. It lets people all over the UK (and further afield) help their neighbours whilst saving the planet and some money too.
If you have food going to waste, you can simply snap a photo and set the pickup location. You’ll receive a notification when there’s a successful match and feel amazing knowing you’ve genuinely made someone’s day. So far, over 34,124,223 portions of food have been shared and over 5,098,000,000 litres of water saved using the app – now that’s a lot!
There are plenty of ways we can make smarter choices for ourselves and the environment as consumers. Remember you can also ask your local restaurants, food delivery and takeaway services about their ingredients and sustainability practices. The more customers request it, the more likely changes will be. It’s a winning formula for everyone involved.
