Reduce Food Waste with AI

A Solution Born from Personal Crisis

Somdip Dey, while pursuing a master's degree in computer science at the University of Manchester, experienced a family emergency when his parents were involved in a serious car accident. He promptly remitted his available funds to India to cover their medical expenses.

This left him facing a common predicament: how to afford sustenance while awaiting his next payment. Fortunately, the timing coincided with the summer break, and many students were discarding unopened food items as they vacated their accommodations.

Dey quickly recognized the significant amount of edible waste that could benefit individuals in need. This realization spurred him to consider how technology could address food waste and food insecurity.

From Academic Pursuit to Nosh Technologies

As Dey progressed to a PhD at the University of Essex, he, alongside Suman Saha, established Nosh Technologies. The company was conceived to leverage technology in the fight against food waste.

Currently, the Nosh application boasts a user base of nearly 13,000 individuals on both Android and iOS platforms.

The app empowers users to record the expiration dates of their grocery purchases, providing timely reminders to utilize items before they spoil.

AI-Powered Waste Reduction

Employing artificial intelligence, the app analyzes user consumption patterns and waste habits. This analysis generates weekly reports, offering insights to help users minimize waste and reduce grocery spending.

Data input is streamlined through barcode scanning and direct grocery receipt uploads, though manual entry is also supported. Once a user’s inventory is cataloged, the app facilitates searches for online recipes utilizing existing ingredients.

Future development plans include a premium subscription offering access to an AI capable of generating personalized recipes based on available food items.

“Users have reported savings of approximately 40 to 50 pounds monthly, representing a reduction in potential waste,” Dey shared with TechCrunch.

Expanding the Nosh Ecosystem

At TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Alley, Nosh unveiled new features aligned with its founding principles. These additions include Nosh Daily, a complementary blog, and Nosh Shop, a platform enabling restaurants to offer discounted food nearing its expiration date.

The startup currently operates on a pre-seed funding of £33,000 and employs nine individuals. A 10% service fee is applied to transactions, allowing Nosh to generate revenue.

Approximately 3% of the service fee revenue will be allocated to charities dedicated to combating food waste.

Competitive Landscape and Differentiation

To Good To Go, a European-based company, recently secured $31.1 million in funding to pursue a similar objective as Nosh Shop. However, Dey asserts that Nosh distinguishes itself by permitting restaurants to sell food at a higher discount than To Good To Go.

This pricing flexibility is intended to incentivize greater restaurant participation and, consequently, reduce food waste. While To Good To Go typically offers food at one-third of its original price, Nosh Shop allows discounts of up to 70%.

The success of this approach hinges on consumer willingness to pay a slightly higher price for discounted food. Initially, Nosh Shop will launch in select locations within the U.K.