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The Tinder For Eco-conscious Foodies – BonApp works like matchmaking!

Let’s be real, if you are into food (which you probably are if you’re reading this), how many times you find yourself looking for discounts on your favorite food? 
Well, BonApp is your savior!

Erika Diantry along with Alice Kaboli and Malin Raman Delin rethought the entire food chain and created BonApp, the perfect tool to food waste management in the UAE! Hear it from these female entrepreneurs how a premature idea of theirs gained over a thousand downloads in less than a year.

What connected you to your other two female cofounders?

BonApp

We are a Nordic all-female trio, who have always dreamt about starting our own business.  Alice Kaboli and Malin Raman Delin are from Sweden both with backgrounds from the finance sector whereas I’m from Finland & I have worked for multiple NGO’s and sustainability in the consultancy sector.

After we realized that all three of us had the same ambitions to start something of our own, we decided to join forces and started working on a business idea which today I take pride in calling BonApp! 😀

The one thing we knew for certain, was that we wanted to come up with a business model which would have a positive impact on the society, and where everyone can contribute.

Eat Well, Save Money, Make A Difference!

Take me back to how the idea got started and evolved into BonApp.

When we realized the amount of food that is being thrown away on a daily basis, we knew this is the problem we will be solving and it all gradually fell into place.

We started to work on it and finally came up with a mobile application that would address the issue of food waste, offer great deals for foodies and an even amazing way to contribute to a sustainable way of living.

BonApp

The Tinder For Eco-conscious Foodies!

Later on, we resigned from our jobs, put savings into the business, and BonApp was created. It was a big leap for all of us. However, there is not a single day since then that any of us have regret our decision!

What pushed you to address the leftovers?

We started to speak to hotels and restaurants and collected as much as data we could and guess what? 
Our fears were confirmed – Almost half of the food prepared every day is wasted!

we found this horrible then and we find it horrible now!

From an ethical point of view, we wanted to put the value back into food as something that should be eaten and not thrown away. Wasting food causes CO2 emissions and contribute hugely to global warming. However, UAE Food Bank and Dubai Municipality’s #ZerofoodWasteCampaign were our inspiration to dive into food and beverage industry!

Save Food With Bonapp

Eat Well, Save Money, Make A Difference.


Tell us about your team.

Today we are a team of six people working on BonApp fulltime!

Malin with a passion for numbers is in charge of finance and investor relations whereas I with her handle new sales and customers relations.

Alice with an eye for detail is in charge of marketing and design.

Jospeh, our CTO is in charge of developing the app, supported by Hanan.

Filippa is our newest addition to the team and has the role of Relationship Manager.


And what is the experience of running the company with Alice Kaboli and Malin Raman Delin? 

We work very well together. I believe the main reason is because we share the same values, both when it comes to our private lives and on the business side. This is key to everything we do. We also complement each other by understanding and encouraging our different strengths and skill sets.


The tagline on your website is “EAT WELL, SAVE MONEY, MAKE A DIFFERENCE.” How do you think are you making a difference?

As much as 30% of the food produced is lost or wasted each year, costing our society an estimated USD 1t in economic costs, USD 700b in environmental costs and USD 900b in social costs.

BonApp helps F&B outlets reach customers on time and push sales on products that is otherwise at risk of being wasted, such as soon to expire, surplus and over-stocked products. 

Since the launch in February, together with our partners and customers, we have managed to save an estimate of 1,000kg of food from ending up as waste. That equals to 2000 Co2-e kg saved from entering our atmosphere.

Why do you think there aren’t more female startup founders?

Might be because there is a lack of female role models together with the fact that females are less likely to receive funding in a male dominated world.

BonApp

Tell us more about how the app works?

With a few clicks, any food provider can post deals on food they need to push, still fresh and before its expiration date.

Customers download the app for free and can buy good food at reduced prices, and at the same time, they rescue the food from ending up in the waste bin. 

Why did you launch here in the UAE?

UAE was the natural place to start as we know the market well and the market size is huge. BonApp is very scalable, and since food waste is a global problem, expansion is very much on the agenda. However, would like to explore first the Middle East and then globally.

Food waste is a serious economic and environmental issue and BonApp offers a scalable solution to minimize food waste everywhere it exists. Hence, expansion is the next thing for us in our fight against food waste!


If you compare your startup with a food item, which one would it be? And why?

An Avocado – they are loved by everyone, healthy and green. Also are sustainable in the sense that after being enjoyed you can plant the seed and grow a new tree. 🙂 

Buying on BonApp means saving meals and actively doing something good for the society and most of all minimizing the environmental footprint.

Want to score discounts and rescue your favorite food from ending up in the trash bin? 😉

Download Bonapp available no on Google Play and The Appstore  and adopt a more sustainable way of living!

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