In 2018, OLIO, a UK startup that allows users to post photos of food they don't like and share them with their local community, received $6 million in Series B funding. Many outsiders wondered what the deal was with this app that appeared to be a simple community bulletin board for unwanted food. What could have made such a simple idea so attractive to serious investors like Accel? It is much more interesting than its humble beginnings suggest. Today's founders Tessa Clarke, Saasha Celestial - One, who founded OLIO out frustration with food waste, prove that they might have something to offer.
For OLIO, a $43million Series A round has been raised.
VNV Global, a Swedish investment firm, led the latest round. This fund has backed Avito Delivery Hero, Babylon, and Lugard Road Capital / Luxor, a New York-based hedge funds with market expertise. Existing investors Rubio, Octopus Ventures and Jason Stockwood (technology entrepreneur), and Lord Waheed Alli, (media entrepreneur, politician) are also present. DX Ventures is a new strategic investor. It is the VC arm for Delivery Hero, a food delivery company.
OLIO will use this war chest to expand internationally and grow its Food Waste Heroes Programme. This effectively acts as an enterprise player amongst restaurants and food businesses to reduce food waste, cut carbon emissions, and achieve zero food waste.
It will also be focusing on 10 key markets in Latin America and Northern Europe, where the startup claims it is experiencing strong organic growth.
OLIO was founded in 2015 by Clarke, Celestial-One and allowed users to donate unwanted food to their neighbors for no cost. Its mission-driven founders were deeply committed to helping people eat more sustainably and reducing food waste. It was also a blessing for local food businesses such as restaurants who found that they were able to not only provide food sustainably, but also gain positive optics from local customers. This growth hacking approach has allowed OLIO to get into large businesses like Tesco. Last year, Tesco added 2,700 UK stores to the platform. OLIOs distributed surplus food that was nearing its sell-by dates via OLIOs network.
Clarke was a farmer's daughter and OLIO is her brainchild. The app has more than five million users. They have shared 25,000,000 portions of food, which is equivalent to saving 75 million cars miles, and three million other non-food items. The company claims that half of the food added to the app can be requested within 21 minutes.
The global food waste generated each year is estimated at $1.3 trillion. This isn't just about the loss of food, but also huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
Clarke stated in a statement (full TechCrunch Interview below) that OLIO had grown five-fold over the past year. This is a reflection of a significant shift in how citizens and businesses look to be more sustainable, and work with local communities. We are thrilled to have received this capital from a stellar group of investors. They support our vision of redefining consumption for more than a billion OLIOers by 2030. This is an enormous goal because humanity cannot continue to struggle with global warming and feed 10 billion people while throwing away one-third the food they produce and eating as if there are 1.75 planets. We aim to solve these twin problems and build the most transformative company of our time.
OLIO claims that its Food Waste Heroes program now has more than 30,000 participants. These volunteers are members of the community who take unsold food and distribute it to businesses like Pret A Manger and Compass Catering.
Clarke stated that both UK and international companies are looking to reduce their waste. This is due to growing ESG commitments. Clarke noted that there are a lot of inquiries coming in from major retailers, food delivery services, and fast-food chains. OLIO is one the most cost-effective and simple ways for an organization to achieve zero food waste.
OLIO taps the desire to see food waste disappear, but it also has been super-charged because of the pandemic. People were forced to live and interact locally.
This means that the MADE section, which allows users to sell and buy local handmade food and crafts, has received a lot more interest. There is also a section called GOALS, where you can find 100+ swaps. OLIO also discovered a possible avenue for local lending or renting. It was in a position Facebook Marketplace would kill to be. According to the founders, new features such as BORROW or WANTED are expected to be launched within six months.
The Series B round will also help to scale the OLIO Team from 40 to 175+.
Per Brillioth (CEO of VNV Global), who led the round, stated: The phenomenal growth of OLIO in the past year is clear and it's evident that consumers are increasingly focused on small steps they can take to improve their household sustainability. OLIO is a new-generation community marketplace that has the potential to truly reach all corners of the globe. It is well placed to serve this market and create a truly transformative company.
Duncan McIntyre is the Managing Partner at DX Ventures. He stated that OLIO has built a strong and growing user base and is now tackling global food waste in a sustainable and scalable way.
OLIO clearly has a vision beyond food-sharing as I discovered in my interview with Tessa Clarke, co-founder.
Mike Butcher: This is the story of a startup that started with a simple idea and has grown to become something great.
Tessa Clarke : It is a reflection on where I believe the world is at the moment, in that the climate crisis is being addressed. In a post-COVID world, OLIO makes a lot of sense. We grew more than 5X last year, and this pace is continuing because people realize that I want to get connected with my neighbors. I hate to have to throw away stuff. I want to feel connected to my community, feel empowered, and make a difference.
Butcher: How come you believe food businesses are involved in your Food Waste Program?
Clarke: Having seen the IPCC reports they are well aware that net zero is possible. They need to develop an ESG strategy. This is the Food Waste Heroes program, which is thriving. Because businesses have spent years creating projects throughout their supply chains to reduce or eliminate food waste, we have an impressive pipeline. They've done it all, and now they're coming out of the other end with discounts apps and charities. This leads them to the inevitable conclusion that OLIO is the only way to eliminate food waste. We spent the last year growing very quickly with Tesco in their store portfolio.
Butcher: What effect does growing regulation and increased demand for ESG standards have?
Clarke: Clarke, Child labor was an endemic problem in the fashion industry for many, many years. These days, they are monitored and controlled out of existence. Food waste is also being monitored and controlled. It is unacceptable to keep a large waste container in the back of the shop, throwing away perfectly good food. Customers are bringing it up on social media and employees are telling you they don't want to have to throw out perfectly good food every single day. If you are a high-street retailer, retention of staff is one of your top three biggest challenges.
Butcher: Series B rounds don't happen just because someone wants to throw away a prepared meal. Please tell me how OLIO was integrated into the circular economy and involved at these enterprise-level companies.
Clarke: Yes. Tesco created a video to celebrate our one-year anniversary. We have saved more than 5 million meals. This allows Tesco to reposition itself as a pioneer and a leader, which sends a strong signal to their employees as well as to their customers about their commitment to net zero. Others large corporations are listening and want to do the exact same.
Butcher: This might be a cute idea for someone who first encountered it. Is it possible that this dismissive attitude enabled you to fly under radar and build grassroots enthusiasts with a growth approach.
Clarke: You are absolutely correct, we have largely flown under the radar. Because of how we looked on the outside and because we were founded by women, we have been greatly underestimated. People didn't have a long-term vision when we started. We were rooted in the community and Saasha, my wife, could see clearly where the world was heading, so we built a strong, mission-driven business. We have 50,000 ambassadors spreading the word about OLIO to everyone who will listen. This number is increasing every day. There are 30,000 volunteers who have been trained and we receive 1000s of them every month to distribute surplus food in their community. Over and over, we hear: We serve our community. We hate waste. We were tapping into something very human: the hatred of waste. It also felt very human to share something you don't want to another person living near you who would enjoy it. It's good to share. We have seen over 40% of our members feel less lonely since COVID. This is a huge achievement considering that over 9 million people in Britain feel lonely. It's powerful stuff that isn't immediately apparent when you first open the app. It's amazing how people find it so easy to use.
Butcher: Did the app appeal come about naturally or were you responsible for it?
Clarke: We are ambitious and driven by our mission. We are moving towards a three-degree, four-degree plus warmed planet. The consequences are unimaginable. Food waste, if it were a country, would be the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Every year, a landmass larger than China is used to grow food that has never been eaten. A quarter of humanity's freshwater is used for food production that has never been eaten. As more people become more aware of the realities of climate change, the top solution to the problem is solving food waste. Saasha and me are extremely ambitious. We believe we can't continue to be a species that sits back and wonders how we are going to solve the climate crisis. How will we feed 10 billion people while still throwing away a third all of the food we produce. Our vision for OLIO is to revolutionize how people consume food. People currently consume goods like washing machines and throw them away. The model we are creating is: While I want to consume, I will see what's already in my community for free. It's faster than Amazon deliveries and it feels great. I will accept what my neighbor doesn't want./ We also have a borrow facility. We want people to be able to purchase new items locally and to appreciate the history behind them. This will help us to consume more sustainably. We want to challenge everything Amazon and Facebook represent. We want to be the antidote.
Butcher: Would you believe this would put you in the NextDoor ($4.3 billion) or Facebook Marketplace (worth $4.3 trillion?
Clarke: Yes, Etsy and Facebook marketplace. NextDoort is optimized for sharing information with neighbors, but we can also connect people to share things. This is the main difference. Another major difference is the fact that sustainability is a part of our DNA. It is our raison d'être. An army of 6000 volunteers, who each day collect thousands of items. There are thousands of people who walk along the streets, collecting food at their local bakery, bakery, deli, or supermarket and taking it home. It takes on average 21 minutes to request an item via the app. This hyperlocal, real-time distribution network was integrated into the community.
Butcher: A funding round like this is a huge opportunity for your investors. It's not about sharing a sandwich. Your company is likely to have access to and data that no other company has. What would NextDoor do if it launched food sharing? Etsy deciding to target the local market.
Clarke: No one is doing the same thing anywhere else in the world. There are a few reasons why this is so. It's been hard work, it's true, and it has taken a long time to get here. The other thing I notice is that when I think about my competitors, I often think of the trash bin. This is my competitor. So I need to create a product experience, a community and brand marketing communications to compete with that so that people can give away something instead of throwing it away in a matter of seconds. We have spent many years optimizing the OLIO app for neighbors to exchange items in a simple, safe, quick, and fun way. While other companies may try to move into our space, I believe we are pioneering the total reinvention and use of consumption. I would like to see capitalism in this space.
Butcher: While this may seem a bit cheeky, do you think that a man would have thought of this idea?
Clarke: Clarke: No. Although I may be a bit facetious, I stand by this statement. From month to month, our community fluctuates between two-thirds of three-quarters and three-quarters women. This is because women still hold the primary responsibility for the food in the home. It is our birthplace and our foundation. They are also responsible for decluttering the home and maximizing the use of the resources. This also touches on the fundraising point. It can sometimes be difficult for men to grasp the use case because they aren't responsible for managing the tricky balance between supply and demand for food each week. It can be hard work, especially for families. Our female audience especially enjoys the connection to the community piece. The idea could have been conceived by a man. However, I think that a lot OLIO's work is rooted in a feminine perspective of the world. This is because I hate waste and I care about the environment. Anything that has to do with community is a hugely male-dominated field. Anything that has to do with food or purchasing food is heavily skews for female. I am a North Yorkshire farmer daughter. My upbringing was very poor. I worked hard on the family farm my parents owned with my brothers. You develop a hatred of food waste when you are raised in a very poor environment. Six years ago, I had to pack my house and go through all the food. I said no and then I bundled my baby and toddler up and went out onto the streets clutching my food, hoping to find someone who would take it. After working for 10 years in the digital industry, that was when I realized there was no easy way to post food so my neighbor could pick it up. Saasha, my co-founder, was open to the idea. Many people thought I was crazy. But she understood it completely. We then went on a rabbit hole of research about food waste. We discovered that a trillion dollars was being wasted, as well as the environmental impact. We discovered that people throw away food because they aren't connected to their communities. There is no one to share your leftover food with.
Butcher: Do You think the effects of the pandemic have overcharged your business?
Clarke: There were 1000s of photos of empty supermarket shelves, which reminded people that food is their main source of life. People wanted to be connected with their community to either receive or help. Many people felt that staying at home was not enough. However, being able offer to cook for others helped. A campaign called "Cook for Kids" was launched. We had more than 30,000 meals prepared and made available to local families via the app. Thirdly, people were working and living at home. The OLIO exchange became much simpler. It wasn't my intention to schedule it between seven and nine at nights. I was just trying to make it a pleasant break. I have someone stopping by at two o'clock to pick up some things for me. It is a great way to chat with dogs and get outside to walk the dog and get exercise. People are now living in the community. The final thing is that people realized that they don't need to drink a Starbucks latte every day to be happy when we began the dialogue about building back stronger. It was the best thing that could happen. And it reaffirmed the fact that climate change is the greatest existential threat facing humanity. Everyone woke up to the fact that we must do something about this. It takes only 10 seconds to give something away on OLIO. You'll have a smiling neighbor and the planet will be saved.
Butcher: Do you think a funding round of this nature will result in your ability to scale internationally?
Clarke: We've been around for six years and have been able watch the data. It has grown in places like Singapore and Mexico, which we have been able to observe. These aren't countries I would recommend for international expansion. We have had amazing, fantastic traction in Latin America. Many other founders have spent a lot of money trying to break America too soon. We want to scale first outside of America so it makes sense to focus on other markets. We are also getting a lot of inbound from international retailers in other countries, saying, Bring the food waste program into our market. This is a combination of looking at the areas where we see organic traction and the inbound interest from our partners.
