Ingka Group and Too Good To Go announce food waste milestone as Ikea retailer taps Winnow’s AI technology
Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, and Too Good To Go report that they have saved one million Surprise Bags with surplus food from going to waste.
Since the partnership started in 2017, the pair say they have demonstrated that managing surplus efficiently and engaging customers are not separate efforts, enabling Too Good To Go users to rescue good food across 14 countries and 240 Ikea stores. Since FY17, Ingka Group has cut production food waste in its kitchens by 60%, the equivalent of 47.5 million meals avoided.
“One million Surprise Bags saved with Too Good To Go is something we are genuinely proud of. It sits on top of our effort to reduce food waste in our kitchen production to the equivalent of 47.5 million meals since FY17. One is rescue. The other is prevention. You need both, but prevention has to come first,” says Connor Hill, Head of Circular, Ingka Group.
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Ikea, saving one million Surprise Bags together. This milestone shows how collaboration can increase sustainable living, accessibility and affordability,” says Mette Lykke, CEO at Too Good To Go.
Working with Winnow, an AI food waste technology company, Ingka Group has invested in since 2019, it has developed Waste Watcher - a tool now installed in 402 stores that identifies and reduces production food waste before it happens. This uses real-time tracking to identify and reduce production food waste before it occurs. By FY25, 402 of Ikea stores had installed Waste Watcher. Combined with historical data from Winnow, that infrastructure delivered a 60% reduction in production food waste, measured in grams per cover, across Ingka’s restaurants, bistros and Swedish Food Markets.
The result is 47.5 million meals’ worth of waste avoided, including 9.6 million in FY25 alone. In 2022, Ingka Group met the UN SDG 12.3 target, halving production food waste per cover in restaurant operations, eight years ahead of the global 2030 deadline.
As surplus varies, Ikea employees have the flexibility to include cinnamon rolls, cakes, salmon and other popular unsold items into Surprise Bags, and listing them into the Too Good To Go app. Customers reserve their Surprise Bag in the app at a significantly reduced price compared to the contents’ original retail value, arrive within the pick-up window set by the store, show their in-app receipt and receive a surprise mix of surplus food items.
The partnership launched with pilots in Belgium, Norway and France in 2019, expanded through Europe in 2020 and 2022, and reached Canada, the US and Great Britain in 2024, with pilots in Australia following in 2025.
Winnow data that already informs kitchen production forecasting feeds directly into Surprise Bag planning. Too Good To Go operates as part of daily food operations, not as a standalone activity.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Green retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
