The social enterprise behind Saveful, the intuitive free app that helps people save on their grocery bills and reduce food waste, has launched a campaign to accelerate the uptake of the app and empower consumers to save money, food, and time.
Saveful September has been created to emphasise that the easiest way to save money and time, without compromising health or lifestyle, is by saving food. The added bonus is that small changes in household habits can have significant impacts, benefiting both family budgets and the planet.
Saveful founder and CEO, Kim McDonnell, said while the cost-of-living crisis is impacting 80 per cent of Australian families, on average, each household wastes 780 kilograms of food a year, worth roughly $3000.
“Saveful September is a crucial initiative as we approach the festive season, a peak time for food waste and financial stress for many families. Saveful empowers people to make more conscious food choices, reducing waste, saving money, and saving time,” McDonnell said.
Saveful September will culminate with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September.
McDonnell and co-founder and COO, Mike Chuter, launched the app almost 12 months ago in a bid to shift the narrative from one of waste to one of savings.
“We wanted to create a practical and tangible tool for all Australians because the consistent message we were hearing was that people didn’t want to hear about the problem unless there was also a solution,” McDonnell said.
The app offers a personalised user experience and flexible meal frameworks based on a household’s individual needs. In doing so it also helps users develop the ability to build sustainable, simple, and convenient home cooking habits.
It features chef hacks, tips and tricks from planning meals and grocery shopping, to how best to store and prep the products you’ve bought. It is also motivational by showing users the impact of their food tracking and monetary savings.
Saveful users simply ‘swipe right’ on tailor-made recipes to make the most of what is on hand based on their specific budget, taste, cooking skills, and dietary requirements.
In the first 12 months the app has had 214 updates, providing 65 meal frameworks and thousands of meal ideas. McDonnell told Food & Drink Business that by constantly adding to the meal frameworks, new partnerships, and features, users stay connected to the app.
“We turned the recipe rule book on its head, so rather than starting with the end result, we start with the ingredient. You can plug in any ingredient you have at home – like that head of broccoli that’s on the turn – and from there, Saveful presents a whole lot of different meal options.
“But where Saveful gets really clever is, unlike traditional recipes that are quite rigid, with Saveful you can then personalise that recipe and substitute ingredients in and out depending upon what you have in your fridge.
“We are also educating people about what’s in season. When you’re in the supermarket and a particular produce is in season, Saveful can provide a host of ways you can cook with it. And we’re trying to bridge the gap from farm gate to dinner plate because we know the closer the connection we have to the who, how, and where our food is grown, the more we value it and the less likely we are to waste it,” she said.
Saveful ambassador, Matt Moran, said by being highly intuitive and motivating, the app helps households understand what is in season and ultimately make reducing waste easy and empowering.
“There’s a romance in eating foods only when they are in season, and the anticipation of a fruit or vegetable about the return.
“It’s all about unleashing our food’s full potential, empowering Aussies to do more with less conveniently and helping households reduce food waste by taking something off the plate of busy families – not adding to it,” Moran said.
Since Saveful launched in November 2023, it has more than 20,370 uses, has saved an estimated $42,243.47, 2,885.87 kilograms of food, and 5,482.47 kilograms of carbon.
McDonnell said they were indebted to Saveful’s partners:
- founding partners – Bega, Nestle, Birds Eye, Goodman Fielder, Rabobank, and Qantas;
- new brand partnerships – SunRice, Gumtree, Compass Group, Good & Fugly, SPC, Gander, Chief Nutrition, and Yume Foods; and
- new industry partnerships – The Compass Group, and OzHarvest Use it Up.
During Saveful September, every meal you prepare using Saveful will put you in the draw for one of five $1000 grocery prizes.
McDonnell said that with the support of Saveful’s extensive partner network, the Saveful September message will be amplified across social and digital media channels, staff activations, in-store and at point of sale, all with the goal of reaching every Australian family.
