Foodles partners with ReFood to eliminate ‘unavoidable’ waste
Every year, the business delivers more than 1,000,000 pre-prepared meals, with hundreds of smart fridges operational across the continent
B-Corp certified corporate catering business Foodles has partnered with ReFood to eliminate unavoidable food waste generated across its national operations, as part of a strategic drive to further enhance its sustainability credentials.
The agreement will see the surplus meals collected from Foodles’ smart fridges across London sent to ReFood’s anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Dagenham and used to generate both renewable energy and bio fertiliser.
According to Foodles, this partnership with ReFood unlocks new circular solutions which both benefit the environment and have the ability to scale with its “rapid” expansion.
Founded in 2014, Foodles delivers “fresh”, “healthy”, home-cooked meals on a daily basis, which are stored in next-generation smart fridges and dispensed to customers much like a vending machine.
The concept was originally launched in France, but has since expanded further across Europe – first into Belgium in 2020, before entering the UK in 2022. Every year, the business delivers more than 1,000,000 pre-prepared meals, with hundreds of smart fridges operational across the continent.
With three AD sites in the UK (Dagenham, Doncaster and Widnes), ReFood works with hundreds of businesses across the food supply chain to enable “best practice”, sustainable food waste management. Every year the company handles 480,000 tonnes of waste, using it to generate renewable energy and sustainable bio fertiliser.
Michaël Ormancey, co-founder and co-CEO of Foodles, said: “Since setting up our services in London, we’ve seen a variety of companies sign-up to receive daily deliveries. We aim to offer complete flexibility to both employers and employees – in essence, we’ve re-imagined the lunch break.
“However, while our cutting-edge approach is far more sustainable than the old fashioned corporate catering model, uneaten meals must be dealt with responsibly. Our partnership with ReFood will enable us to continue to grow with this sustainable, scalable solution.”
Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood, added: “We’re pleased to be working with Foodles to recycle its surplus, unavoidable waste. Thanks to our state-of-the-art AD sites, we can offer a scalable solution that builds on the company’s already impressive sustainability credentials.
“What’s more, we can even handle fully packed material, meaning less hassle for Foodles and a more streamlined solution overall.”