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I tried out the apps to find out how easy it would be to pick up food on my daily schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n On the handful of occasions I used the apps in heartland areas, meals were often not available when I needed them, or they were unsuitable, or simply too far away.<\/p>\n For example, a meal I could have had for dinner was only available at 8pm, which was too late for me. On another occasion, a bundle of bread that I could have saved for breakfast the next day was available, but the bakery was more than a kilometre away.<\/p>\n The few times I did manage to buy food through the apps were when I happened to be near a bakery nearing closing hour on the way home, and could pop by. I also managed to pick up dinner after 8pm but only because work ended late that day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This was one of the hurdles faced by FoodToo, one of the later entrants to the surplus food redistribution scene.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Food and beverage operators could list on FoodToo during designated pick-up windows when they expect surplus, such as after breakfast or lunch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “They all want merchants near their home, near the office, and at a very steep discount and at a very convenient timing,” founder Kelvin Yap said.<\/span><\/p>\n These barriers proved too high to overcome for FoodToo, which began winding down in late March, less than a year after it officially launched. It is no longer operating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Yap, who began developing the platform in 2024, spoke of the challenges that prevented the app from gaining traction. Its roughly 2,200 users and about 65 merchants \u2013 a mix of eateries, hawkers and bakeries \u2013 towards the end were not enough.<\/span><\/p>\n Onboarding larger chain outlets and franchises proved to be a challenge, as they often needed the app to integrate their systems and workflows. But this also meant options around customers were limited, leading to fewer transactions.<\/p>\n Timing and distance were also issues \u2013 users were less willing to travel far for food available later in the day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “If it’s 9pm, you would only go somewhere like downstairs, right? Like very close, you wouldn’t travel. You won’t go beyond one bus stop. Our golden mark is one bus stop,” he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “So that was where we found that users start dropping off.”<\/span><\/p>\n A similar platform that has achieved more scale is Yindii, which was founded in Bangkok and launched in Singapore in August 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Businesses list unsold food in surprise bags at discounted prices and customers can pick them up during a collection window.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The app had around 250,000 users by the end of 2025 and close to 400,000 by September this year, head of partnerships Terry Quek said. About 60 per cent of users place repeat orders, with such users accounting for around 95 per cent of all orders.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite this, it has also faced the challenge of matching supply with demand in certain areas.<\/span><\/p>\n “The better locations are the ones that are in convenient locations, that are near MRT (stations). That will definitely have a higher chance of a higher sell-out rate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The ones that are in more (secluded) areas, you require a user to have a car to drive to, then of course the sell-out rate is lower,” Mr Quek said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yindii is piloting a new delivery service, called Yindii Drop, where surplus products with long shelf lives would be sent to customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n James Cook University\u2019s Professor of Strategy and Sustainability Adrian Kuah said convenience and the need to achieve sufficient scale and network density were among the key challenges faced by the platforms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While Singapore has a high population density that can support efficient transportation, the domestic market remains small, so a platform needs substantial participation from merchants and consumers to generate sufficient transaction volume, he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While consumers may support reducing food waste, they could still be unwilling to travel far, accept inconvenient collection times, tolerate uncertain product availability, or purchase food perceived as less fresh, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cConsumer convenience \u2013 particularly location, collection time, choice and perceived food quality \u2013 is therefore an important determinant of consumer demand,\u201d said Prof Kuah.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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