Bonapp, the Romanian startup that combats waste by connecting consumers with retailers selling food close to its expiration date, is unveiling a major update in its partner application and announcing expansion to every county in Romania, with over 150 towns and cities active by the end of the year. Through Bonapp’s mobile app, which is available on iOS and Android, users from every Romanian town or city where PENNY has stores will now be able to buy an array of food products that are approaching their expiration date, with a discount of at least 50 percent.
“After months of hard IT work, we have managed to boost our tech! Our app is now automated and fully integrated with PENNY. This means that any product that is close to its expiration date in any of their stores can now be listed in our app, with just one click. This tech enhancement, which embeds a file transfer protocol at article level, significantly reduces the intervention time for their staff. This major app upgrade is truly unique in our industry! It’s a game-changer for the future of our business,” said Ramona Tulbure, Retail Director at Bonapp.
To date, over 250,000 Romanian users have downloaded the mobile app in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Brașov, saving 300 tons of food from being thrown away.
Dan Crișan, COO of PENNY | REWE Romania, said: “We position ourselves as the discounter that knows Romanians best, which is why it’s very important for us to be close to clients from all over the country. So working with Bonapp is a successful example that helps us do this. Food waste management is a priority for us, so through our internal processes we try to reduce the amount of food waste as much as possible. The partnership with Bonapp came as a natural step for PENNY Romania, and expanding to 150 cities in the country by the end of the year is truly an extraordinary thing. The whole process is integrated and automated, making it very easy for our store colleagues and customers to use the app.”
The world wastes 40 percent of its food supply, according to the WWF. Food waste alone accounts for 10 percent of all global greenhouse gases. As well as exacerbating climate change, food waste also causes retailers significant losses. In Romania alone, 2.2 million tons of food ends up in landfill every year, according to the European Environment Agency.
To date, Bonapp.eco has raised 1.4 million EUR from business angels and VCs. The company founders are currently in discussions with new international investors over a seed round.
