A very modern and innovative concept came to our country, just when precision has brought consumers to their knees and food waste has skyrocketed. This is the initiative of Bring it Back, the new app through which you can find shops that will close within a short period of time and offer a whole bag of their merchandise at a special price.
Just like that, we tried to place our order through Bring it Back and ate a whole bag of salty and sweet snacks from Street Kuluri, on Zoodochos Pigi Street. All of them cost 3 euros, while their normal cost at any other time of the day would be more than 10 euros.
Navigating the platform is very simple. You enter your address and the app finds your nearest cafes, bakeries, bakeries and supermarkets that participate in the program and have a special offer package. There, you find the offer that suits your budget – prices start from 2.5 euros – and pay.
The QR code that is generated and you have to scan it in order to receive your order.
Immediately, you receive a QR code and at the same time the store starts preparing your order.
“Bring it Back was created in order to reduce this waste and move Greece out of this negative position,” the platform’s website informs us.
“It is constantly contacting food outlets to find out if they have leftover fresh food at the end of the day, and help them, in a profitable way, to reduce waste and therefore environmental pollution.”
We got a whole bag of stuff from Street Kuluri, for just 3 euros.
At Street Kuluri we received our bag from the hands of George and Sebastian, who made sure our order had fresh and delicious savoury and sweet items. From bagels, to cookies and raisin bread.
They also shared with us their pleasure to participate in this platform, which promotes a zero waste lifestyle that is good for the consumer and the store itself.
Despite the fact that the project is very new and people do not know about it, customers have embraced the project and consistently order 2-3 bags a day, a few hours before the shops close, when the traffic drops.
Bring it Back is available on the App Store and Google Play.
If Greece deservedly wins a title, it is undoubtedly that of “champion” in food waste among European countries, as reflected in the relevant United Nations report (UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021).
The magnitude of the problem of food waste worldwide is considered so serious that it led the United Nations to include Food Waste as the 12th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As part of “Responsible Consumption and Production”, the goal (Target 12.3 and Indicator 12.3.1) is to “halve global food waste per capita at the retail and consumer level”, but also to “reduce food waste along the production and supply chains by 2030”.
In this context, we host today in our interviews Mr. Christos Kokkoros, CEO and one of the founders of Bring it Back, the first company to use technology to combat food waste in Greece.
Describe your objectives.
Bring It Back creates a sustainable Win-Win-Win relationship, connecting food outlets (bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, etc.) with environmentally conscious consumers. The third winner is, of course, the environment, as both businesses and consumers contribute to the fight against food waste.
This Win-Win-Win relationship can be achieved when:
– Businesses increase their revenue by selling surplus food that would otherwise not be consumed. In this way, they save some or all of the cost of buying/producing food.
– Consumers buy good quality fresh food at a reduced price, saving money and raising awareness of the huge problem of wasted resources.
– Food waste can be avoided by contributing to a more sustainable planet. Less food waste means less food buried in landfills and therefore less greenhouse gas emissions. It also means utilization of man-hours and total costs for production.
Our company’s vision is a future where the words food and waste do not go together. Our mission is to spread the ecological awareness of food waste starting from Attica, then throughout Greece and later in the rest of Europe. Bring it Back wants to offer the opportunity for more affordable food prices, while maintaining the same quality standards.
Our challenge at the moment is to penetrate the market and make people trust us, as the project is new and innovative for the Greek market. However, the market is environmentally conscious, as demonstrated in a survey we conducted before we launched this new venture.
How was the idea born and why did you specifically choose Greece, when you could have initially focused on countries with a better business climate?
The idea was born towards the end of 2018 shortly after I moved from Sparta to Berlin, I saw various projects of a similar nature thriving in Germany and Northern Europe in general. Then I thought “why not” in Greece, “why not” in Southern Europe. The countries of the South have always carried the label of wastefulness in various areas, but now the circumstances have changed and we are more ready than ever to respond positively to such innovative ideas. What was missing, however, was the expertise and the creation of a strong team.
In 2020 I started a postgraduate program where I met my current colleagues. Indeed this team was set up by partners in Greece – Georgia Vourtsa -, Brazil – Nizar Kadi – and Iraq – Shahla Bani.
Greece is a champion in food waste. Apparently, Education is not giving us the basis so far to reduce this huge waste? Do you think entrepreneurship is “key”?
It is true, as I said before, that it is not an easy process to change habits from one day to the next. Greeks love food in terms of quality and quantity.
What needs to be controlled is the waste of goods, as its effects have a negative impact on our daily lives. The philosophy of Bring It Back can be summed up in a simple sentence, as philosophical as that sounds: Be a force for good.
With responsibility and perseverance, we will succeed. We are also opening up an entire industry as we are the first anti-food waste company in the country. So entrepreneurship may ultimately be the key player in the fight against food waste.
Are you happy with the market conditions in Greece, or did you find something worse than what you initially expected?
It’s a question I like to avoid. It’s very easy to say negative things about the market conditions in Greece but going abroad and doing business here, I realized that in all cases you have to focus on the positive aspects of the market.
What obstacles and opportunities do you see at the moment in the Greek business scene?
In a new venture the only obstacle is the ignorance of such a solution. Bring It Back promotes the solution to the food waste problem… and I mean that one can ultimately become part of the solution to the problem simply by using their mobile phone! The opportunities are many, as we are the first app in the Balkans to explicitly address food waste with a business approach.
Based on your company’s current plan, where do you see Bring it Back a year from now?
I love this question and would love to be asked it every year, to motivate me to think about the future plans for this project. Our goal is for Bring It Back to be expanded throughout Greece by the end of 2023. Besides, the interest of businessmen from cities in the region is becoming more and more intense.
The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in December 2019 and it was decided to be celebrated every year on 29 September, starting in 2020.
Its main goal is to bring together individuals, organisations, businesses and governments around the world to help reduce food loss and waste. Everyone can contribute to the common cause by treating their nutritional needs more carefully (they can stop buying unnecessary food, store food properly, make the most of food waste, etc.), but concerted action by authorities, businesses and organisations is needed to successfully solve the problem globally.
Moreover, food production has emerged as one of the biggest threats to the environment today, contributing among other things to the climate crisis. By 2030, food loss and waste should be reduced by 50%, according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But the European Union needs to take significant steps to achieve this, as its progress has so far been slow, according to a joint report by WWF and UK-based WRAP.
The critical juncture the planet has reached requires all of us to take food waste seriously and take action! That’s where our company, Bring it Back, comes in, to fill this gap between stores and consumers and give a second chance to fresh food that wouldn’t be consumed. Our goal is to significantly reduce or, why not, eliminate food waste in Greece. All this while helping Business owners to recoup some of their food costs and Consumers to enjoy quality fresh food at a discounted price. Everyone benefits and wins, and most of all the environment, as resources are fully utilised and waste is reduced.
Food waste in numbers, according to WWF
Worldwide:
1 in 3 food waste, 1.3 billion tonnes of food.
30% of the fruit and vegetables produced are rejected because of their appearance.
Countries that measure food waste represent only 12% of the world’s population.
28% of rural areas are cultivated to produce food that is simply wasted.
Pan-European:
88 million tonnes of food end up in the garbage.
Every person in the EU throws away 173 kg of food per year.
10% of the rejection is related to the indicated expiry date.
Greece 3rd in the world in food waste
Greece, unfortunately, is a global leader, ranking third among the most food-wasting countries.
The classic cant that our parents used to say and we tell our children, “the children in Africa are hungry, eat all your food”, now has a real basis. As of course the classic answer “it doesn’t matter because the kid won’t eat it in Africa” is also valid. It is, however, a classic demonstration of the wisdom of the people, because both food waste and hunger are a reality in Africa in the 21st century.
Greece, according to UN data, is third on the list of countries that waste the most food in the world. At the same time ELSTAT, with data for 2020, reported that 1.35 million people in the country face food insecurity.
What is food waste?
Food waste refers to the amounts of food we throw away – leftovers and expired food, but also the food lost in the production, transport, storage and sale process, which is not a negligible amount.
The majority of lost food is found in households according to statistics. EU figures give about half of the total food waste in households. Catering services account for 10% of the total, for example. The rest is lost in the production and supply chain.
Why is food waste a problem?
Food waste not only contributes to the loss of valuable and often limited resources such as water, soil or energy, it also contributes to climate change. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for every kilogram of food produced, 4.5 kg of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
Another important factor is the huge number of undernourished people on the planet, reaching 793 million in the pre-covid period. In Europe alone, the number of people who in 2014 were unable to have a quality meal every other day reached 55 million (9.6% of the EU population).
So let’s all work together for a world without food waste!
Dear minions of Sickman, did you know that Greece throws away the largest quantities of food in Europe, while it is ranked as the third worst country in the world?
Oh yes, apparently we can afford to throw away an average of 142 kilograms of food per person.
On the good news now, finally someone is doing something about it! “Bring it Back” was created with the aim to reduce this waste and “kick” Greece out of this negative position. Through the Bring it Back application, stores can make fresh leftover food available to consumers at very affordable prices and, as a result, reduce – or even eliminate – the waste of resources and thus the pollution of the environment. It also creates ecological awareness among consumers and enables them to contribute to the idea, in a profitable way for them as well, by allowing them to buy leftover fresh food at a very special price. The range of choices is wide, from restaurants to bakeries and super markets.
In other words, the Bring it Back app unites food outlets and consumers, with the common goal of reducing food waste and mutual profit. The goal is for the Bring it Back community to keep growing until there is food for all without an environmental footprint, and food waste is zero.
Here on the blog, you know that we greatly appreciate any movement or company that contributes to the community and the environment!
But let one of the four creators of Bring it Back, Christos Kokkoros, tell us better.
How did you get the idea to start the company?
The idea actually started in December 2018, when the company I lead here in Berlin started working with the Danish project “Too Good To Go”. My aim in the first year was to bring this amazing idea to Greece, as I saw in practice how it works and how it can benefit a society.
But unfortunately at that time they didn’t want to deal with the Greek market, so I decided to do it on my own or with a group of people.
In the next period I started my postgraduate studies in order to enrich my knowledge in the field of Business Administration, until I met my partners.
How ready are we as Greeks to welcome something so innovative?
The truth is that Greece is becoming more and more open to such ideas/projects. Whether it is 100% ready yet we cannot know, but a study we did gave us the impetus to start. We came to the following conclusions:
-The Greek knows about the consequences of wasting goods.
-The Greek wants to change this situation…
-The Greek lacks information on this very sensitive issue and
the actions that can help it to reduce waste.
I read that the 2GoodToGo app has helped reduce food waste in northern European countries. Do you think the same can be done here?
I clearly believe it!!!!
After all, we are talking about an investment, otherwise we would be moving on to other projects as an investment group.
That in itself says it all.
What is the big obstacle and the big advantage you see for Bring it Back in Greece?
The big obstacle is to understand that this project is clearly addressed to everyone and it’s just the first time that the financial incentive is given at the same time… I think your question is easily answered here!
What are you hoping for as Bring it Back in the next two years?
Our goal is to establish ourselves in the Greek territory by the summer of 2023 and from then on to expand abroad with our first stop being Brazil. After all, one of the investors in this project comes from the coffee country.
Do you think that humanity has reached a breaking point when it comes to
Estimates show that we are definitely on the brink. Reducing food waste will directly contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, one of the biggest problems facing the future of this planet.
What is the message you would like to give to Greek food and catering businesses?
Of course, businesses must make a profit from whatever moves they choose to make. Thanks to Bring it Back, for the first time they are given the opportunity to save money on fresh produce that would be thrown away because it would not be consumed – at best, a minority of businesses give the food that is not consumed to organisations or citizens without any guarantee that it will actually be used. At the same time, through Bring it Back, businesses participate in an extremely important project that comes for the first time in Greece and has a key environmental purpose: not to waste the gift of food from now on.
In other words, businesses have everything to gain from working with us, both economically and socio-environmentally. This is what we want to offer Greek businesses.
