So much has been said about food sustainability, but what can we really do to reduce food waste? As I spoke to TreeDots and Treatsure, two players in the food sustainability scene, it allowed me to delve deeper into the aftermath of the food that we do not see.
Story by Amandy Tan | Photos by TreeDots & Treatsure
Addressing Our Food
How do you deal with the expiring yoghurt left in your fridge? It may end up in the trash bin after a few days. The same goes for the co-founder of Treatsure, Preston Wong, who witnessed his family clearing out food items that were expiring. Although it may be the easy solution, unfortunately, this leads to an increasing amount of food being wasted every year. Therefore, Treatsure steps in to save these food items with short shelf life.
How about other types of food that are deemed as “ugly foods”? The appearance of these products is one of the main factors for being left on the shelves. So, what will happen to these unsold food products?
The honest answer: They all go to waste.
Similar to Treatsure, TreeDots comes in to save these unsold meat and seafood which are visually unappealing. Otherwise, they have to be thrown away by suppliers in order to welcome a new batch of produce.
Who Are They?
These two companies are dedicated to saving food and educating their audience on food sustainability. Let’s take a closer look at each of their approaches!
Not Limited To Fruits And Vegetables
TreeDots is a social enterprise that takes cosmetically filtered meat, seafood and surplus food and sells them to consumers and food and beverage (F&B) businesses. Their aim: to reduce the problem of food loss in Singapore.
The Marketing Manager of TreeDots, Shi Min says, “We connect consumers directly with the suppliers through our app, this cuts down middleman or extra costs to be incurred and consumers can get groceries at a cheaper price.”
What’s not to love? A win-win solution for all!
TreeDots launched their group buy platform during September 2020 where buyers come together to bulk buy groceries which not only save food but also save costs and manpower.
The accumulation of unsold inventories in the warehouse of suppliers and supermarkets results in surplus. A large amount of resources and money is wasted to dispose of these products.
“We contact suppliers who want to come onboard and clear their food supply. There are others who see TreeDots as a good platform when they are faced with the problem of overstocking,” Shi Min explains on getting suppliers.
“There was once when we were approached by a supplier who needed to clear 500kg worth of black chicken expiring in two weeks. After listing it on our platform, it was sold out within three days!” Shi Min recounted.
TreeDots did not expect an overwhelming response, they saw the success of their work when buyers stepped in to save the food.
Currently, TreeDots has expanded their reach to frozen food.
Turning Food Into Treasure
Treatsure, on the other hand, is a mobile platform that tackles food wastage and promotes food sustainability. Their mission: to get everyone to treat food as treasure. Treatsure further educates their audience by introducing sustainably sourced products, ranging from snacks to everyday products on the Treatsure app.
“We bring in any food items with an expiry date that we can help clear. Things like dairy, bread and other things you can find in the supermarket.” Preston shares about their app.
Treatsure brings in sustainably sourced produce into their app each week. Excess food resources are relocated to Treatsurers (buyers of Treatsure) and businesses that would “treasure” them. Occasionally, they would introduce upcycled food products such as edible cutlery or bread-fermented beer, all created by local companies in Singapore.
Treasure has since opened a concept store in January 2021, located at Oxley Tower in the Central Businesses District (CBD). They bring some of their products offline, engaging consumers on the role of food sustainability.
Through such initiatives, consumers are becoming open-minded to the idea of buying surplus food and adopting imperfect produce.
Diving deeper, let’s talk about leftovers!
This is a major problem faced by many hotel buffets. At the end of each dining session, a large amount of food has to be thrown away due to hygiene reasons.
Here comes buffet-in-a-box! Started by Treatsure, they help to manage hotel leftovers by allowing Treatsurers to “takeaway” them in a recyclable box at allocated timings. At a fixed price, the booking process can be done through their app. The booking process is done through their app. Treatsurers pay a fixed price to fill up their box.