Today I tried a new application called TooGoodToGo . While the name seems like a javascript function, I respect the fact that they kept all the vowels.
The mission statement latches onto the environmentally conscientious angle, which is indeed a part of it, but more of a side effect. Depending on if you’re a consumer or business, your angle is to recoup cost for food you’d throw away, or getting food on the cheap. Like most green initiatives, it needs to make dollars and sense before people will really get on-board.
Downloading the app was simple and the search worked without having to register. I really enjoyed that you had the option to use the application up until the point of purchase without having to fork over your email etc. Based on the site, the three main sectors are restaurants, grocery stores, and bakeries. As you can guess the pick-up times also vary depending on the outlet and when they want to get rid of their excess inventory. Most bakeries have early evening or very early morning pick-ups, restaurants I’ve seen are mostly just at closing time and later in the evening. In my area, it’s almost exclusively bakeries and coffee shops looking to get rid of their excess pastries. My search range was 3 miles, but if I opened it up I saw a few more restaurants.
After a few days of browsing I eventually saw a place that was about a mile away and had a pick-up time that right about the time I finished work. Deciding to pull the trigger, I put in my information and loaded up my credit card. It was pretty seamless and didn’t need to do any email verification steps. Once I made the reservation, I had a timer letting me know when the pick-up window opened. In most cases there is a 20-40 minute pick-up window. When I made the reservation, I had a confirmation number listed on the app that was also emailed to me. When I walked into the store, the team was obviously closing up. I mentioned I was there to pick up the “Grab Bag” and the person at the counter handed me one of three boxes sitting on the counter. Additionally they told me to just confirm on the app that I picked up my order. It was super simple. Also the staff member I interacted with seemed like they had been using the service for a while and I didn’t get any of that stink-eye vibe you sometimes see when you’re buying things on a discount.
The packaging was great. I was half expecting a grocery bag with loose muffins, but this was actually a box from the bakery that was filled with grab-bag goodies.
Once I got it home and opened it up, I was even more impressed. Kettle Glazed Donuts has a solid reputation for great donuts, but the spread in the grab-bag was pretty impressive.
There were a total of 9 donuts in the box that I received.
- Apple Fritter
- Blueberry Fritter
- Chocolate Sprinkle
- Blueberry Cake
- (2) Old Fashioned
- (2) Glazed
- S’mores Donut
Cost $6
Now I didn’t eat all of them. I wanted to. I really wanted to. I did take down the S’mores Donut and part of the Blueberry fritter. With that price tag, I might become the guy at work who is always bringing in baked goods.
Overall it was a pretty great experience. It may vary based on the saturation of businesses in your area that are on the platform. However if you live in an urban area with some restaurants and bakeries, it’s a solid way to get some delicious food that would normally end up being thrown away.