OLIO

Based in the UK, OLIO is a food-sharing app that connects neighbors, volunteers, and businesses willing to share surplus food. The location-based platform allows people to list and post a photo of surplus food items to be shared with others. As of September 2021, the company had over five million users and saved 25 million portions of food from going to waste. The company has set a target of 1 billion OLIOers by 2030. OLIO implements a ‘freemium’ model where users pay a monthly fee of GBP 1.99 for extra features in its app, while its core service of neighbor-to-neighbor food sharing remains free.

During the global pandemic, OLIO saw a surge in demand which led to the company introducing new business lines. One such initiative, OLIO’s MADE, is a marketplace for handmade products—a service for people looking to buy products available near them amidst lockdowns. During 2020, the company reported that it grew nearly 5x, given the increasing demand for its services. OLIO claims that 50% of its listings receive a request within 21 minutes of posting.

Key customers and partnerships

The company charges larger businesses for the services they provide via their Food Waste Heroes Programme that picks up and delivers surplus food to communities in need. As of September 2021, the company had tied up with around 3,000 businesses via this program.

Tesco is one of the prominent businesses involved in OLIO’s Food Waste Hero Programme and has launched the app across 2,700 of its stores across the UK, saving over five million meals, as of September 2021. By this time, the program also built a network of more than 30,000 volunteer participants collecting and redistributing surplus food to the businesses. The company’s food redistribution partners include Pandamart, One Stop, Anglian Learning, Whole Foods Market and facilities management company ISS -to implement Olio’s redistribution service across 35 NHS hospitals in the UK in March 2024.

Funding and financials

In September 2021, the company raised USD 43 million in a Series B funding round led by VNV Global and Lugard Road Capital. The company planned to use the funds to expand its team, and ramp up its “Food Waste Heroes” program by strengthening its presence in international markets. The company targets 10 key markets across Latin America, Northern Europe, and Asia. In addition, the company also stated that it plans to further diversify its offerings by adding a new marketplace in its app for borrowing small items such as DIY tools.