Consortium including Nestlé UK&I and Google Cloud tap AI to redistribute surplus meals to UK communities

Nestlé UK&I, Google Cloud, and food charities including FareShare and Zest (formerly The Wonki Collective) have unveiled what is pitched as a first of its kind AI solution designed to help identify and redistribute up to 1.5 million surplus meals to UK communities.

The initiative, part of Innovate UK’s £1.9 million BridgeAI programme, connects food manufacturers, logistics providers and charities using AI (Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and BigQuery), to cut waste, reduce emissions and drive systemic food chain change.

This solution, spearheaded by climate tech firm Sustainable Ventures, is already showing promise, according to those involved: at one Nestlé factory, early Zest tech trials cut food waste by 87% in just two weeks.

The collaboration sees the development and piloting of Zest’s (formerly The Wonki Collective) integrated AI powered platform that will connect food manufacturers, logistics providers and charities - redefining supply chain efficiency.

The platform leverages Google Cloud’s BigQuery and Vertex AI to streamline and accelerate the process of matching available surplus food, including products and ingredients, to where there is demand. Bristol Superlight’s integrated AI/machine learning (ML) driven logistics system enables the quality of surplus food to be measured and tracked throughout its delivery journey. 

Once tested, the solution could be applied at scale across the food supply chain, and offers commercial and charitable opportunities for the entire sector.

Esra Kasapoglu , Director of AI and Data Economy, Innovate UK, says: “This IUK Bridge AI initiative highlights how strategic funding, collaboration, and entrepreneurial spirit bring together innovators from a wide range of industries - food, logistics, tech, climate, charity, and venture building.”

“Together, they've developed an innovative AI solution that aims to transform food sourcing and distribution across the UK, cutting waste, reducing carbon emissions, and lowering costs. This pioneering project is just the start, laying the foundation for future innovations that will drive circular economy models and advance sustainability efforts.”

Simon Brown, Corporate Innovation Partner of Sustainable Ventures, says: “We believe in the power of collaboration. Bringing together this fantastic group of stakeholders will reduce the time and risk taken to develop this new AI food supply chain management platform, whilst providing a market ready solution that can be rolled out across the industry.”

“We are here to bring together corporates with climate tech startups, finding ways to derisk the process and enable sustainable, innovative and commercial solutions to enter the market.  This project is only the beginning; watch this space.”

Dr Emma Keller, Head of Sustainability Nestlé UK & Ireland, says: “As the world’s largest food manufacturer, it is important for us at Nestlé to set an example on food waste.”

“This exciting cross industry initiative builds on work we have undertaken over the last decade to tackle food waste and will enable us to further optimise surplus within our operations. With the country suffering from historically high food poverty and food insecurity rates while food waste continues to rise, focusing on this is the right thing for us as a business  to do.”

Dini McGrath, Co-Founder of Zest (formerly The Wonki Collective), comments:  “Our mission from day one has been to empower food manufacturers to design out food waste, and we’ve always known this vast challenge requires collaboration. We’re ecstatic to be working with some incredible powerhouses to support us in achieving our vision. As with most things in life, collaboration is key - together, we are stronger. This milestone brings us closer to our shared goal of building a more transparent and sustainable food system.”

Simon Millard, Director of Food at FareShare, comments: “We are enormously grateful to all the partners involved in this exciting project. For 30 years FareShare has been bringing together partners from across the food and manufacturing sectors to help bridge the gap between food insecurity and food waste, and this innovation will make a huge difference.”

“Over 8,000 charities and community groups across the UK already rely on food redistributed by FareShare to help strengthen communities across the UK. By unlocking new efficiencies in systems, we will be able to get more food to those groups and create greater social impact.”

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH, organiser of the industry leading RTIH Innovation Awards, proudly brings you the first edition of the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, which is now open for entries. 

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Wednesday, 3rd September.

This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.

Please email our Editor, Scott Thompson, if you have any questions or need further information: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com

Key 2025 dates

Friday, 18th July: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 22nd July: 2025 finalists revealed

Wednesday, 23rd July - Friday, 8th August: Judging days

Wednesday, 3rd September: Winners announced at the 2025 RTIH AI in Retail Awards Ceremony, to be held at The Barbican in Central London.