Finnish app conveys enjoyment and saves food from the bin
With the ResQ app, food is not only collected, but also channelled to where it is needed.
How Sweden, Estonia and now Berlin are benefiting from the Finnish lunch culture.
Lunchtime is very important in Finland. The ‘lounasaika’ starts at 11 a.m. at the latest, where there are usually no plated meals but buffets. And because the question often arises at the end of a buffet as to who takes the leftovers, the business idea for ResQ, a platform that sells surplus food from the catering trade to end customers at greatly reduced prices, was born in 2016.
Users of the app can select which products they would like to buy and pick them up at a fixed time at a greatly reduced price as a takeaway portion. ‘It's better to know what you're getting. People have such different dietary needs, from vegan to vegetarian, and we want the food to go to the people who really need it and not just to someone who is throwing it away,’ says Nina Kallio, Growth Marketing Manager at ResQ.
Stollen, chives, lemon cake, banana bread and even tulips are currently on offer - but that can change quickly. ResQ sells around 10,000 portions every day. The app already has over one million registered users in Finland, is also available in Sweden and Estonia and has been available in Berlin since 2024. Trade fair visitors can try out ResQ at Grüne Woche (Hall 8.2/116), and exhibitors can also take part. ‘A Finnish café has sold us its leftovers, unfortunately we don't have much contact with other countries yet,’ says Elsa Ahlfors, Marketing and Sustainability Manager.
Calculating the right quantity
Urmas Palk is waving diagonally opposite at the Estonian stand. The man with the Viking helmet describes himself as the mascot of Hall 8.2 and has been there for 25 years. The diverse product range extends from elk sausage, spiced sprats and fruit jelly to beetroot grain snacks, chocolate and loaf bread. ‘Some products sell better, others worse, but after 25 years we have the experience to carry just the right amount to sell all the products,’ he says.
Visitors to the handmade ice cream from the Glück ice cream parlour in Latvia (8.2/114) probably wish they could order the ‘unforgettable oatmeal ice cream’, the ‘energising black bread ice cream’ and the ‘refreshing beer ice cream’ via app. At 11 a.m., the queue already stretches as far as the Lithuanian stand. However, those waiting there are well entertained: A trio of musicians with violin, accordion and triangle encourages the chef to dance while she tosses round quark doughnuts into the deep-frying pot. The Lithuanian restaurant (8.2/100) with its specialities such as porcini mushroom soup, zeppelins, toasted rye bread with cheese and homemade kvass has been a popular stop for Grüne Woche guests for years.
ResQ is striving to become such a centre of attraction too. With the code: RETTEDICHSATT, readers of this blog can save five euros on their next ResQ purchase and actively reduce the amount of food that is thrown away.
