UAE: Get up to 60% off on food as restaurants sell surplus items on new app
Residents of UAE can now get food, drinks, and sweets from their favorite restaurants and other outlets at a much cheaper price than before.
Restaurants like Arabic, Indian, Asian and other Platable F&B brands, are specially listing surplus food on the Platable app at a discount of up to 60% instead of throwing away the excess food.
According to estimates, around 30% of food produced gets wasted in the Gulf region alone, which hopes to decrease this number by 50% come 2030.
Platable’s co-founder and CEO Salmaan Mohammed explains, “We made this platform that allows consumers to buy food from F&B outlets using their surplus inventory which probably would go to waste. For example, a doughnut company has about 300-400 pieces it needs to get rid of that are unsold by the end of day. They are able to sell these pieces on the platform at half price during off peak hours from 9pm to 11pm.”
This ensures that residents save money on buying food and at the same time helps restaurants increase their earnings.
As of now, F&B outlets have no choice but to dispose of excess food. As a solution, selling surplus food helps generate revenue while also promoting sustainability. On the other hand, consumers benefit as they can now use spend less money to purchase items from their favorite brands. Brands that those consumers weren’t able to purchase frequently are now available at a reasonable price,” outlined Mohammed.
Palatable is planning to integrate more outlets throughout the UAE and the rest of the gulf after initially setting up their service in Dubai. Mohammed aims to complete the official launch by Ramadan 2025, but the beta version of the app is already accessible on the App Store and Play Store.
Since its initial launch in November, over 50 brands have reached out to Platable, and the app has built a userbase of over 3000 customers, all through word of mouth.
Currently, Platable processes around seven to ten orders each day. Mohammed plans to increase that number to 1,000 by selling 75-80% of the initial inventory after app launch. Mohammed comments that Platable does not charge the customers directly, but makes formal agreements with vendors and collects commission from them.
Too Good to Go is a modular app used by restaurants to reduce food wastage that is also gaining fame in the western regions.
“Places sell food bunds such as surprise boxes, which contain unknown meals. Restaurants know that there is surplus, but they don’t know how much is surplus. A seller may choose to sell a bundle of six doughnuts but not specifying what type of doughnuts are in the bundle.
Furthermore, Senders from all you can eat(AYCE) establishments may post a non-vegetarian meal bundle without showing the items included,” Mohammad while speaking at a conference on restaurant management in UAE, as part of Dubai Chamber.
"The app lets customers login and check which F&B establishments in their area are offering meal boxes for lunch, dinner, or breakfast. The food is considered surplus so the users can set the time of pickup or delivery depending on the restaurant’s allocated surplus hours."
"Say a customer wants to reserve a box of donuts from a store that closes at 11 PM, they can do so at a discounted price between 9 PM and 11 PM. The customer knows they will be picking the box up, so the store will prepare it in advance," he said Mohammad, adding that the stores know their customers very well.
The company has raised angel investments from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “We are also this funding round to build the app and to advertise its launch. We are currently looking for $500,000 and have secured $400,000 so far. We have another $100,000 to close with a handful of angels.”
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