Aussies raving about $10 Too Good To Go ‘surprise bags’

Aussies have been left stunned after discovering a new way to save money on their groceries, with many sharing their find online.

Could a $10 “surprise” food bag be the answer to some of Australia’s biggest problems?

As a nation, we currently waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food every year, figures show.

We also have 3.3 million people in Australia living below the poverty line – including 761,000 children – as families struggle to afford basic needs such as housing, food and clothing, which has only worsened in the current economic climate.

But a new app which allows restaurants, supermarkets and bakeries to offload their unsold fresh produce at the end of each day at a significantly discounted price, is hoping to help ease the pressure currently felt at both ends of the market.

Too Good To Go is a Danish-born certified B-Corp, and the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food.

After launching in Melbourne in August, the company is now available in Sydney, and its Australian director Joost Rietveld said it has big plans to help halve our nation’s annual food waste by 2030 in line with the National Food Waste Strategy.

Aussies are raving about $10 ‘surprise bags’ which you can purchase from select supermarkets, bakeries and cafes. Picture: TikTok

They are accessed through the Too Good To Go app which recently expanded to Sydney after launching in Melbourne in August. Picture: Supplied

“It’s a win-win solution for retailers generating income from inventory that would otherwise be reduced to waste, but also for consumers getting quality food from great locations at a great price,” he told news.com.au.

“Australia is a new territory for us, so when it came time to launch operations and on-board businesses we needed to spend sucient time to understand the dynamics in the market.

“Australia obviously has a much larger geographical setup than all European countries which means that our communication strategy can be quite different depending on the state, additionally the success of a marketplace like Too Good To Go often relies on people sharing their experience peer to peer.

“We expect that this news might not travel as quickly in Australia as it does in smaller geographies but we have seen the signs that it will happen.”

The brand’s Australian director Joost Rietveld said it has been ‘amazing’ to see Aussies embrace the concept. Picture: Supplied

It may be early days, but news of the bargain bags is starting to spread, especially on TikTok where several Sydney and Melbourne users have filmed themselves in their cars as they open what they described as an “adult lucky dip”.

One woman said she received a 4-pack of finger buns, a loaf of sliced white bread, a Vegemite cheese scroll, as well as a whole seeded loaf of bread, and a sourdough baguette for $9.95 from her local Bakers Delight.

Another woman scored two huge deli sandwiches for just $8, which they claimed would have cost them $24 ordinarily at the diner they ordered from.

While someone else ended up with a tray of fried chicken wings, a chicken, veg and rice dish and a muffin for $8 from an Asian cafe in Melbourne.

One phrase that kept appearing in each of the videos was that their Too Good To Go order was “such a good deal”, with many Aussies outside of the two cities commenting that they were hoping it launches in their area soon too.

It enables restaurants and retailers to offload unsold fresh produce at the end of each day rather than throw it away. Picture: TikTok

Consumers love it as the products are purchased at a significantly discounted price. Picture: TikTok

“I used it while I was in the UK. It’s a good idea, I look forward to more places in Australia signing up,” one commented.

“This is so good,” said another.

“Amazing, so glad it’s finally in Australia,” concluded someone else.

There were some who also noted the app didn’t have many vendors on it as yet, a situation Mr Rietveld said is improving every day.

“While we’ve already got some amazing partners on board like Bakers Delight, Harris Farm, It’s Recess and MangaSushi, new stores are joining every day,” he explained.

“Looking to Melbourne as an example, we started off with around 80 partners on our launch date and are already at over 200. Users can definitely look forward to more businesses available on the app in the coming weeks and months.”

He also said data shows a promising start for the company in Australia, which comes almost 10 years after it was founded in Copenhagen in 2015.

“With over 30,000 Surprise Bags sold since launch and over 140,000 sign ups it’s clear that Aussies are happily embracing Too Good To Go,” Mr Rietveld added.

“But it’s not just the numbers saying this, users have been taking to TikTok to share their thoughts and Surprise Bag experiences.

“I don’t think anybody can plan to go viral or predict the love we have seen from users across the world, but it’s been an amazing support to our efforts.

“We love seeing how keen customers are to share their Surprise Bags and money saving ‘hack’ with their followers.

“Not only are they fun to watch but they build interest with other potential users which ultimately helps us reach our surplus food saving goals faster.”