EG Group reaches one million ‘Magic Bags’ milestone with Too Good To Go

EG Group said it has now prevented more than one million bags of food from going to waste in the UK, thanks to its partnership with food waste app Too Good To Go.

The Too Good To Go app allows customers to purchase a ‘Magic Bag’ of surplus food from convenience retailers, restaurants and producers at a discounted rate. Users can find nearby businesses that offer unsold food on the app, and collect their Magic Bag at an allotted time.

EG Group added that the partnership has particularly helped those struggling with the rise in the cost of living in recent times. The ‘Magic Bags’ contain food items at a third of the retail price, something which customers are taking advantage of and largely benefitting from.

“This is a fantastic milestone in our partnership with Too Good To Go, helping to reduce both food waste and carbon emissions,” Amina Batool, Head of ESG & Sustainability at EG Group, said.

“Notably, we have seen a spike in the number of users in recent months, as more and more people monitor household spending closely, and hope that this partnership goes some way in supporting families who are looking for ways to combat the increasing cost of living.”

EG’s partnership with Too Good To Go started in 2018 in France, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The UK business joined the initiative in 2020 and has since become EG’s largest market for the app.

EG first offered ‘Magic Bags’ across a number of its forecourt stores and then, due to strong demand, rolled out the app to foodservice partner brands, including Greggs, Starbucks, Cinnabon and Sbarro.

Since the launch of the partnership in September 2018, nearly 1,400 EG stores and concessions have gone live on the Too Good To Go platform across the UK and Europe. Customers have picked up over 260,000 ‘Magic Bags’ across Europe from EG Group’s network, and a further one million ‘Magic Bags’ in the UK.

Globally, more than 3,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions have been saved via the EG Group and Too Good To Go partnership, the group claimed.

Sophie Trueman, Managing Director of Too Good To Go UK & Ireland, said: “I’m thrilled to have reached this incredible milestone. EG Group’s commitment to fighting food waste has made them the perfect partner for us, and it’s amazing to see the significant impact we are driving together.

“Saving delicious food from going to waste not only carries huge benefits for our planet, it can also be a great help in making ends meet. I can’t wait to see our EG Group partnership continue to flourish and reduce even more good food from going to waste.”