Quick Article Overview
- Both Too Good To Go and OLIO are fighting food waste, but in different ways. One sells surplus food at a discount, the other gives it away for free.
- Too Good To Go has partnerships with big chains like Greggs, Pret, and Starbucks, so you can easily pick up a discounted meal or grocery bag on the go.
- OLIO’s partnership with Tesco means you can regularly find free end-of-day bakery items, fresh produce, and sandwiches in your local area.
- Neither app is a perfect solution. Strict pickup windows and mystery bag formats mean you need to do some planning to get real value from them.
- Using these two apps together can significantly reduce your food bill and keep perfectly good food from going to waste.
Every year, millions of tonnes of food are thrown away. But two apps are quietly changing that, one surplus bag at a time.
Food waste is a major issue that can be solved. The food is already there. It's been grown, transported, and stocked on shelves. When it gets thrown away, so does every resource that went into producing it — water, land, energy, and labour. Apps like Too Good To Go and OLIO step in at the critical moment between “about to be wasted” and “in the bin,” redirecting perfectly good food to people who actually want it. For businesses looking to live more sustainably without overhauling their entire lifestyle, these kinds of depackaging machines are worth knowing about.
Two Apps with the Same Mission: Reducing Food Waste
Too Good To Go and OLIO are both designed to prevent food from going to waste, but they tackle the issue from different angles. Too Good To Go partners with businesses such as restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, and bakeries to sell their surplus food at a reduced price. OLIO, meanwhile, is driven by the community. It links people with their neighbours to ensure food (and other household items) are shared instead of thrown away.
Quick Overview:
Too Good To Go — Allows you to purchase leftover food from local businesses at a significantly reduced price.
OLIO — Lets you give and receive food and household items from individuals in your local area, totally free of charge.
Even though both apps have the same end goal, they provide two very different user experiences. Knowing how each one operates — and where each one fails — is what allows you to actually benefit from them rather than abandoning them after the first frustrating attempt.
Too Good To Go Connects Consumers with Businesses' Excess Food
Too Good To Go works by letting businesses post their surplus food at the end of the day, and users can claim what's left through the app. Users pay a small fee — usually between £1.99 and £5.99 depending on the business — and pick up their bag within a specific time window. What you get is a “mystery bag,” meaning the contents are based solely on what the business has left over that day.
OLIO Connects Neighbours to Share Unwanted Food and Items at No Cost
OLIO operates similarly to a community bulletin board. Users take pictures of items they no longer want — food that is nearing its expiration date, excess from a large shopping trip, or non-food items such as books and furniture — and post them on the app for anyone in the area to pick up. All food-related items are completely free of charge.
With OLIO, you can:
- Post food that you can't consume before it goes bad
- Get food posted by people in your neighbourhood
- Get free food at the end of the day through OLIO's partnership with Tesco
- Give or get non-food household items
- Receive alerts for discounted yellow-sticker items at nearby supermarkets
What sets OLIO apart is its partnership with Tesco. Volunteer Food Waste Heroes collect unsold food from Tesco stores at the end of the day and post it on the app. This often includes fresh bakery items, fruit, vegetables, and sandwiches — all free to the first person who claims them. Additionally, Tesco's efforts in reducing food waste align with broader sustainability initiatives, such as addressing the issue of PFAS in packaging.
Both Apps Are Most Effective When You Plan Ahead
Both apps are not ideal for last-minute plans. Too Good To Go has strict collection windows, typically a 30 to 60 minute window at the end of a business's operating hours, and the best bags are reserved quickly. OLIO requires you to respond quickly and arrange a pickup with a real person, which can be unpredictable. The users who get the most out of both apps are the ones who make them a regular habit, not just a sporadic impulse. For those interested in sustainable practices, understanding the biogas production process can complement the use of these apps in reducing food waste.
How Too Good To Go Works
How a Typical Too Good To Go Transaction Works:
1. Open the app and browse businesses near you.
2. Reserve a surprise bag and pay in-app (usually £1.99–£5.99).
3. Collect your bag within the listed time window.
4. Discover what's inside — meals, groceries, or baked goods depending on the business.
The app is straightforward to use. Once you've created a free account, your home screen shows a map of participating businesses nearby with their current bag availability and collection times. You tap, pay, and show up. There's no negotiation, no waiting for a seller to confirm — it's as close to instant as food rescue gets.
The price of the food you get depends on the type of business. A bag from a bakery in your neighborhood might cost £1.99, while a bag of groceries from a supermarket could cost anywhere from £3.99 to £5.99. The contents of the bag are usually worth at least three times the amount you paid, but there's no guarantee about what you'll get. For those interested in sustainable practices, understanding the biogas production process could provide insights into how food waste can be repurposed.
Book a Mystery Bag From Nearby Eateries and Grocers
The mystery bag model is both the app's main attraction and its primary constraint. On a fortunate day, a £3.30 bag from a nearby vegetable shop can produce enough veggies to create four servings of soup, plus bonus items like a smoothie or a side — that's less than £1 per serving. On a not-so-fortunate day, you might get stuck with things you don't usually cook with or can't consume before they spoil.
It's essential to reserve bags from businesses whose surplus you're likely to enjoy. A bag from a burrito restaurant is going to look very different from one from a Japanese grocery store. Browsing the app regularly and learning which local businesses produce the most useful bags takes a week or two but pays off quickly. For those interested in exploring more sustainable food practices, check out this comparison guide on livestock digesters.
Major Brands Collaborating with the App Include Greggs, Pret and Starbucks
One of the biggest benefits of Too Good To Go is its extensive network. It includes major UK chains, which means you're not just restricted to independent local places. There's a real variety across the chain partners:
- Greggs — end-of-day baked goods including sausage rolls, pastries, and bakes
- Pret a Manger — sandwiches, wraps, salads, and hot food
- Starbucks — bakery items and food-to-go products
- Tortilla — burrito bowls and Mexican-style meals at a fraction of the cost
- Local greengrocers and supermarkets — fresh produce, dairy, and ambient grocery items
Chain bags tend to be more consistent in content than independent ones, simply because a Pret or Greggs will always have similar surplus items. That consistency makes them a reliable option if you're trying to plan meals around what you might receive. Additionally, it's interesting to note the ongoing discussion about PFAS in packaging and how it might impact food safety in retail environments.
Strict Collection Windows Require You to Plan Ahead
This is where Too Good To Go demands the most adjustment. Collection windows are set by the business and are non-negotiable — typically a 30 to 60 minute slot in the evening when trading is slowing down. If you miss it, you lose your money and the food goes to waste anyway. Developing a habit of checking the app the night before, rather than hoping to grab something last minute, is the most reliable approach.
Surprise Bag Format Makes It Difficult for Those with Dietary Restrictions
For those with serious food allergies or strict dietary requirements, the surprise bag format can be problematic. While you can browse by business type to make educated guesses (for example, a vegan cafe is more likely to produce a plant-based bag than a traditional bakery), there are no guarantees. Too Good To Go does provide allergen information when available, but the unpredictable nature of surplus food means this can change on a daily basis. For those with severe allergies, this poses a real risk and makes the app less suitable as a main source of food.
The Functionality of OLIO
OLIO operates on the principle that one man's trash is another man's treasure. The app can be downloaded and used free of charge. After creating a profile and setting your location, you can instantly see posts from people and businesses in your vicinity. Each post contains a photo, a brief description, and a pickup timeframe determined by the person who posted the item.
Securing an item is straightforward — you click “I want this,” send a brief message, and coordinate a pickup directly with the individual who listed the item. Most OLIO users are accommodating about pickup times, and many will leave items on their doorstep for you to pick up at your convenience. This flexibility is one of the aspects that distinguishes it from Too Good To Go's inflexible structure.
Post or Claim Food and Household Items From Neighbours
OLIO is easy to use and only takes a few minutes to set up. After you set your location, you will see a feed of available listings in your area — this includes food items, household goods, books, plants, and more. You can also filter by category, so if you are only interested in food listings, you can instantly narrow down your search. New items are posted throughout the day as people try to prevent items from going to waste.
There's a surprising variety of items you can find listed. Sure, you'll see overripe bananas and bread that's about to expire. But you'll also find unopened cans, sealed jars, full bags of flour, and sometimes entire prepared meals from someone who made too much. The quality isn't always consistent, but the general rule on OLIO is that people only list food they would eat themselves — which helps keep the standard fairly high.
OLIO's Tesco Collaboration Offers Free Bakery and Fresh Food at the End of the Day
The collaboration between OLIO and Tesco is one of the most effective aspects of the entire app. Volunteer Food Waste Heroes, who are regular OLIO users that sign up for the task, gather unsold food from participating Tesco stores at the end of the day and list it directly on the app. This is done on a daily basis and can include large amounts of fresh produce, bakery goods, sandwiches, and refrigerated food.
The trick is to act quickly. Tesco listings disappear quickly – sometimes within minutes of being posted. To increase your chances, turn on push notifications for OLIO and check the app early in the evening. The app's coverage also depends on your location. Areas with a high number of OLIO volunteers and nearby Tesco stores will have more frequent listings than rural areas with fewer participating stores.
There Are No Costs Associated with Food
OLIO doesn't require payment for food transactions like Too Good To Go does. All food listings on the platform can be claimed for free. This makes OLIO especially beneficial for those who are struggling financially, not just those who are interested in sustainability. The platform eliminates the cost barrier completely, making good food available to anyone who is fast enough to claim it.
Too Good To Go vs. OLIO: A Comparison
Deciding between these two apps isn't necessarily a matter of choosing one over the other — they address different issues, and most individuals who use one will find the other beneficial as well. However, knowing where each one shines (and where it disappoints) allows you to manage your expectations and establish a routine that truly works.
If you're the type of person who wants a dependable, organised method of saving money on food from companies you're familiar with, Too Good To Go is the better choice. On the other hand, OLIO is a better fit for those who don't mind being more spontaneous, want to get their food for free, and don't mind coordinating directly with strangers. The two apps work well together — anything you can't eat from a Too Good To Go bag can be listed on OLIO before it spoils.
Let's see how these two apps compare across the most important factors for everyday users:
| Feature | Too Good To Go | OLIO |
|---|---|---|
Cost | £1.99–£5.99 per bag | Free |
Food Source | Restaurants, cafes, supermarkets | Neighbours, Tesco Food Waste Heroes |
Pickup Flexibility | Strict 30–60 min windows | Flexible, set by lister |
Know What You're Getting | No — mystery bags only | Yes — photo and description provided |
Dietary Control | Limited | Full visibility before claiming |
Non-Food Items | No | Yes — furniture, books, household goods |
Community Feel | Transactional | Neighbourly and personal |
Best For | Cheap meals and grocery saves | Free food and reducing home waste |
Cost: Free Items on OLIO vs. Discounted Bags on Too Good To Go
If budget is your primary concern, OLIO wins outright — everything is free. Too Good To Go still offers exceptional value (a £3.30 greengrocer bag that makes four portions of soup is hard to beat), but it does require upfront spend. For anyone on a tight budget who can't risk £5 on a mystery bag of cottage cheese and physalis, OLIO is the more financially accessible option with zero risk involved.
Flexibility: OLIO Gives You More Control Over When You Pick Up
Too Good To Go's strict pickup windows can be a real pain. If you can't make it to a business during their designated closing-time slot, you're out of luck. If you miss the window, you're out your money with nothing to show for it. This makes the app difficult to use on a regular basis for people who have erratic schedules or work long hours.
On the other hand, OLIO is quite different. The majority of the listers are flexible, and many of them are open to same-day or next-day pick-up. A significant number of them just leave the items on their doorstep for contactless pick-up at any time. This easy approach makes OLIO much more suitable for a normal, busy life – which in the end means less food is wasted because transactions actually take place.
Variety: Too Good To Go Specialises in Meals, OLIO Encompasses Food and More
Too Good To Go is specifically dedicated to food — particularly, surplus food from businesses. OLIO also deals with food, but its reach is much broader. Users often list furniture, clothing, books, plants, and household appliances. For those who are trying to reduce waste in all areas, not just in the kitchen, OLIO provides a significantly wider range as part of a more comprehensive sustainable lifestyle.
Social Aspect: OLIO Fosters Community, Too Good To Go Does Not
Too Good To Go is a simple exchange — you pay, you pick up, you go. OLIO, on the other hand, is a conversation. You send a message to an actual neighbor, arrange a pick-up, and sometimes you end up having a chat on the doorstep. Regular OLIO users often talk about a real sense of community that is being built around the app, especially in urban areas with a high density of users. This social aspect is not just a pleasant extra — it's part of what makes people keep up with the habit over the long haul.
Which App Is Best For You?
Too Good To Go is the app to choose if you want an easy way to save money on food from businesses you know and love, and you are able to plan your day around set collection times. It is great as an addition to your normal food shopping – a way to get a cheap lunch, get groceries at a discount, or save a bag of baked goods on your way home from work. It works especially well if you live or work near a Tortilla, a local greengrocer, or a Pret with a good selection.
OLIO is the better choice if you prefer free food over discounted food, like to know exactly what you're getting before you claim it, or have dietary restrictions that make mystery bags a no-go. Plus, if Too Good To Go gives you something you can't use, OLIO is the logical next step — list it on OLIO before it spoils, and there's a good chance someone nearby will want it.
How to Make the Most of Both Apps
The main difference between those who love these apps and those who try them once and never again is usually habit. Neither app works as a one-time solution — they reward users who check in regularly, reply promptly, and remain open-minded about what they receive.
1. Enable Notifications to Stay Updated on New Listings
Both apps are highly active. A Tesco Food Waste Hero listing on OLIO can be taken within minutes of being posted, and the most desirable Too Good To Go bags in high-demand areas are often gone well before the pick-up window even begins. Push notifications are the most reliable way to stay ahead of the game without constantly checking the app.
With OLIO, it's a good idea to set up notifications for the categories you've saved in your search — food listings, your preferred radius, and any nearby Tesco partner stores. For Too Good To Go, make sure to set up alerts for your favorite businesses. That way, you'll be notified as soon as a bag is available, instead of finding out it's sold out when you open the app at lunchtime.
2. Swift Messaging Can Help Secure Items Before Others Do
On OLIO in particular, how quickly you respond is just as important as being the first to see a listing. Those who list items often receive several requests within minutes and generally give the item to the first person who replies with a clear, friendly message and a feasible pickup time. A brief, straightforward message — “Hi, I can pick up today between 5 and 7pm, would that work?” — will almost always outdo a vague “I'm interested” sent an hour later.
3. Use OLIO to Share Your Surplus Food From Too Good To Go
Since the food you get from Too Good To Go is a surprise, you might end up with something you can't eat or use. It could be something you're allergic to, something you don't know how to cook, or just too much of one item that you can't eat before it spoils. Instead of letting it go to waste in your fridge, you can list it on OLIO right away.
Take a picture of it, write a brief description, and set a pickup window for the same day or the next day. In most cities, anything edible listed on OLIO will be claimed within an hour. This cycle — Too Good To Go to save food from businesses, OLIO to redistribute anything you can't use — is truly one of the most efficient food waste systems available to an individual without any specialist equipment or significant time investment.
4. Make Sure the Food You List on OLIO is Food You'd Eat Yourself
There's an unwritten rule in the OLIO community that you should only list food that you'd eat yourself. It's crucial to the platform's success. If you list food that's visibly spoiled, damaged, or well past its expiration date, you're wasting everyone's time and damaging the platform's reputation. If you wouldn't eat it, don't list it. The platform only works if people can trust that the food listed is of good quality, and it's up to each user to uphold that standard.
If you're not sure what to do, a good photo in natural light can tell the recipient all they need to know. You can either show the packaging with the date visible, or take a clear photo of the actual food. Listings that are honest and detailed are claimed more quickly and result in fewer awkward follow-up messages asking for more information.
Common Questions
Both Too Good To Go and OLIO have a few questions that are asked time and time again — typically from individuals who've had a bad experience and are debating whether or not to give it another shot, or from newcomers attempting to figure out where to begin. The quick response to both is yes, it's worthwhile — but only if you comprehend how each app truly works rather than how you want it to. For those interested in understanding more about the environmental impact of packaging, it is also worth exploring whether retailers are still using forever chemicals in their products.
Downloading both apps is free. While Too Good To Go charges for each bag you pick up, OLIO doesn't charge for food transactions. There are no subscription fees for either app, and you can use them as much or as little as you want.
The following inquiries address the most frequently asked questions, ranging from where the apps are available to dietary restrictions to what occurs when someone fails to pick up a collection.
Can You Use Too Good To Go Anywhere in the UK?
Yes, you can use Too Good To Go anywhere in the UK, but the number of participating businesses varies greatly depending on your location. The biggest cities — like London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Edinburgh — have the most participating businesses, with dozens of listings available at any given time. If you live in a smaller town or a rural area, you will have fewer options, and in some cases, the nearest participating business may be too far away to make using the app a regular habit.
The most effective method to see if the app is worth it for you is to download it and take a look at the map for your area. If you see ten or more businesses within a mile of you, it will be worth it. If you only see two or three, it may be better to just bookmark those specific businesses and set alerts for them instead of checking the app every day hoping for new ones to be added.
Is OLIO Exclusively for Sharing Food?
No — OLIO isn't just for sharing food. It's a community sharing app that includes a variety of items, not just food. Non-food listings are often seen and are very popular. Categories include a range of items, from household goods to gardening supplies.
With OLIO, you can share anything from furniture and homeware, books, magazines, games, plants and garden items, clothing and accessories, baby and children's items, electricals and small appliances, to craft supplies and stationery.
While food is still the primary use case and the area where OLIO has the most impact in terms of waste reduction, the non-food functionality makes it a genuinely useful all-round sustainability tool. Whether you're clearing out a room, decluttering before a move, or just have things sitting around that someone else would actually use, OLIO is far more effective than leaving items outside or waiting for a charity shop run.
The Tesco Food Waste Heroes programme is all about food — volunteers go to participating stores to collect and list food items. But the rest of the platform is open to any category, which can be listed and claimed freely between neighbours.
If you're looking to reduce your carbon footprint in all areas of life, not just in your food choices, OLIO's mix of food and non-food listings makes it one of the most flexible free resources out there. It tackles the problem of overconsumption from both sides, by cutting down on waste and reducing the need to buy new items.
Is Too Good To Go Suitable for Those with Dietary Restrictions?
The truth is, you should be careful. The mystery bag model means you can't always be sure what you'll get, and while Too Good To Go does show allergen details when businesses supply them, this information is about general menu items, not what's in a bag on any given day. If you have mild preferences — you don't like fish, or there's a certain type of food you don't like — the solution is simple: only reserve bags from businesses that serve food you like.
If you have severe food allergies or dietary restrictions for medical reasons, using the app can be a real gamble. A bag from a bakery might have nuts in it. A bag from a grocery store could have dairy, gluten, or other major allergens, and not every item will be specifically labeled. Too Good To Go isn't the right primary source of food for anyone whose safety depends on knowing exactly what's in their food. But it can still be a useful supplement sometimes if you choose the businesses you get food from carefully and understand the limitations.
How Can You Prevent Being Ignored on OLIO?
Being ignored on OLIO — when someone claims an item and then never shows up or stops responding — is a known frustration on the platform. The best way to reduce it is to make sure the pickup time is clearly stated in your messages, give a specific time slot rather than a vague “later today,” and if you're the lister, don't remove the listing until the item is physically picked up. If someone misses their slot without messaging, it's perfectly fine to move on to the next person who showed interest — most listers do exactly this.
Is the Surprise Bag from Too Good To Go Worth it?
For the majority of users who consistently use the app, the answer is yes — the cost-benefit ratio is strong. The platform's own guideline is that bags should contain food with a retail value at least three times what you pay. If you buy a £3.30 greengrocer bag and make four portions of soup and a smoothie, it's obviously worth it. Similarly, if you buy a £4.99 restaurant bag and get a burrito bowl that would normally cost £10 to £12, it's also clearly worth it.
The value of the bag becomes less clear when it contains items you wouldn't normally buy and don't know how to use — or when the food requires cooking before it goes off and you simply don't have the time. The surprise element is not for everyone, and that's a legitimate reason to find OLIO's transparent listings more practical.
After using the app for a few weeks, you'll get a sense of which local businesses offer the best bags. Most regular users have a shortlist of two or three businesses whose surplus food aligns with their cooking style and dietary habits. At that point, Too Good To Go becomes less of a gamble and more of a dependable discount on food you were already planning to buy.
For users who are focused on sustainability, the question of value extends beyond just the monetary aspect. Every bag that is saved through Too Good To Go is food that did not end up in a landfill — and the carbon footprint of wasted food is quite large. Even a bag that contains odd items has environmental value, especially if you give away the items you can't use through OLIO instead of letting them go bad.
For those who are testing the waters, it’s best to start with a chain you’re already familiar with. Whether it’s Pret, Tortilla, or Greggs, you’ll have a good idea of what the surplus might be. Reserve a bag, pick it up, and judge the experience from there. One try with realistic expectations is usually enough to decide whether it fits your lifestyle. For most people who give it a genuine go, it does.
