As the cost of living increases, growing numbers are looking for ways to save money in their day-to-day life. Whether it be through using less energy, to shopping around for groceries, it's safe to say most people are feeling the pinch.
One popular app - which has been around for years but is more important now than ever - lets people not only save money but also reduce food wastage too.
The Too Good To Go app works by connecting customers to restaurants, supermarkets and hotels that have an unsold surplus of food.
Read more : We tried Greggs’ ‘Magic Bag’ for £2.95 and were stunned by the amount of food we got
The Too Good To Go app has a massive social following, with over half a million followers on Facebook alone. It has partnered with big brands which are featured on the app - including Starbucks, Greggs and Pret A Manger. It also works with local brands in each location. In Cardiff you can find cult favourites such as Pettigrew bakery, Brod Danish bakery and The Angel Hotel.
So how do they work? Businesses sell 'magic bags' of their unsold food at a reduced price (usually around a third of the original price) on Too Good To Go, with the exact contents being a surprise until you pick it up (it's down to chance what isn't sold that day, after all). You pay in advance and have to pick up your food during a certain time frame.
I've had the app for a while and have been intrigued, but also sceptical in equal measure. How much food do you get exactly? Will I save money by using them? How much food can I get for free? Will the food be fresh or stale? And, most importantly, are these apps practical solutions to the food waste problem?
I decided to finally give it a go, and with there being a Pret A Manger a stone's throw from the office, that was my establishment of choice. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but with colleagues around me reminiscing of magic bags "full of pastries" and incredible deals like two burritos for £5, I was excited. After a quick browse I managed to secure a bag - the last one! I should note, bags from popular restaurants sell out quickly so grab them while you can.
This was at around 10am and the app told me the bag would be ready for collection between 2pm and 2:30pm. That's another thing, as the bags are designed to reduce waste they are usually available near a business's close of trading hours - meaning your usual meal times might be thrown off. But, nevertheless, come 2pm I was ready and excited to see the surprise in my 'Magic Bag'.
Curious as to what I would be getting, I decided to do a browse online. Safe to say, within a few clicks I realised the contents of the bag could be hit and miss. From people who found themselves with mounds and mounds of loaves of bread - which unless you have a chest freezer would surely go to waste - to others who had lunches worth five times what they had paid.
Curious as to what I was going to receive I headed off to Pret. I had paid £4 for my bag, and with a coffee and pastry at the cafe usually costing more than this - and with it being notoriously pricier than other lunch spots - I couldn't wait to find out what I would receive.
Well, safe to say, I was surprised.
After a quick peek I found not one, not two, not three, but FOUR soups.
I couldn't help but laugh, not because it was necessarily bad, but just the complete opposite of what I had expected. In all honesty, I had forgotten that Pret - famed for its coffee, delicious sandwiches and pastries - even did soup. I decided to head back to the office for a further inspection, but indeed, on unpackaging, the magic bag was four soups - two pots of 'Souper Tomato Soup' and two 'Chicken, Broccoli & Brown Rice' soups.
I have had Pret soup in the past, and it is lovely, but I have to say I was slightly disappointed to receive four of the same item. Curious to know how much my bag was worth I decided to have a quick search. Instantly, the 'magic bag' felt a bit more 'magic'. Unbelievably, a single soup would ordinarily cost £4.85. Meaning my £4 had already been returned and the total cost of my bag was £19.40.
I was in shock, in terms of value for money it was unbelievable. And I also couldn't fault the quantity - after all, I had enough soup for four portions.
Going in for a taste, I was pleasantly surprised, both were delicious (as they should be for £4.85 for an average size pot). As someone who proudly counts Heinz Tomato soup as one of her favourites, I opted for the 'Souper Tomato Soup' first. It was super as the name suggests. Fresh and tangy, with the right balance of savoury with the sweetness of tomatoes, it was lovely, although, if smooth soup is your cup of tea, then these are not the soups for you. The Tomato soup was filled with chunks of tomato among a not too watery base. While the Chicken, Broccoli & Brown Rice' soup was very chunky, filled with large broccoli stems and lots of vegetables.
For me, despite the chunks of shredded chicken in the chicken soup, it overall had more of a vegetable taste which is not bad - but not as expected. However, of the two this was definitely the most hearty.
While both soups were lovely, and well worth the money, had I not been in the office with willing colleagues I might have been a bit dumbfounded as to what to do with them. The labels on each suggest you 'do not reheat' which means unless you eat all four then and there - it doesn't necessarily marry up with the less wastage concept. And even if you were to travel home there is the possibility they would be cold - again defeating the purpose.
Ultimately, in my experience, and clearly every experience is different, the app was a great tool for saving money but not so much on saving food wastage. That being said, all soups did get eaten so, technically, didn't go to waste on this occasion. However, had I been solo, I probably would have been at a bit of a loss - or would have decided to go against the label and freeze and reheat.
I would definitely look at getting another 'Too Good to Go' bag and have my eye on other vendors in my locality - watch out Greggs!
It is really worth testing in your local area to see what discounts you can pick up. Search for the 'Too Good To Go' app on your phone.
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