A UK-founded neighbour-to-neighbour sharing app that helps people give away spare food and household items instead of throwing them away.
OLIO is a mobile app that connects neighbours with spare food, and later other items, so they can be shared instead of wasted. People can list leftovers or things they no longer need, and nearby neighbours can ask to collect them. It also works with businesses, including shops and restaurants, with volunteers called Food Waste Heroes collecting surplus food and passing it on. OLIO says it saves an estimated 1 million meals a week, and the United Nations has described it as a "beacon" for the world, according to its listing. It began as food-only and has widened to anything that could have a second life.
It was founded by two friends, Tessa and Saasha. The idea came when Tessa was moving country and could not take her leftover food or easily find someone to give it to. She has said her belief is: "if no one else is taking action then we have to take action." Saasha agreed to build the app. Her co-founder's role was to build the app, which shows how an idea from daily life can become a technology product.
OLIO's mission is to reduce food waste in homes and local communities at scale, and it has set a goal of 1 billion OLIOers by 2030. Its stated ambition is a future where sharing is the norm. A profile says it grew from a local initiative in North London to a service in 62 to 63 countries, which is the company's own count. It says it has around 6 million users who have shared over 50 million portions of food. Its listing describes the mission as reducing food waste at home and in local communities, with neighbours at the centre.
In the UK, it reports about 4,500 business locations in its Food Waste Heroes programme and more than 75,000 volunteers worldwide, including local Ambassadors. A 2016 retail article described it as available across London. We did not find a head office address; the Escape the City listing describes the roles as remote and flexible, though that is a third party's description.
The same career-change site says it rates the company highly for work-life balance and for inclusion and diversity, and that it values ideas from anyone on the team. That is one outside review, not the company's own claim. Jobs in a company like this include product and engineering, partnerships with retailers, community and volunteer management, marketing and operations.
Website: olioapp.com
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