Sarajevo Food Finder
Šifra prijedloga: Hrana-nije-Otpad-2019-10-48
No meal in Sarajevo left behind!
Note: The CONSUL platform enables applicants to share their ideas/solutions with the wider public and obtain support. Yet, votes will be only an indicator of the popular support for an idea, not criteria in the evaluation. This is a SAMPLE PROPOSAL.
Key problem - the main issue we want to solve: Many restaurants, bakeries and cafeterias in Sarajevo have a problem of unsold food at the end of the working day. Majority of them throw leftover food away. Currently, there is no solution that would allow food producers to monetize or donate such food. Every portion saved – sold or donated and not thrown away, would reduce both food waste and unnecessary emissions caused by food production. On the demand side, there is no solution that would allow people looking for cheap or free food to know where to find it and is it available for them. So we are looking on how to solve this and make it a win-win for both sides: producers increase revenue, gain new customers and reduce losses associated with the food waste, or simply donate food, while consumers get the same quality food free, or at least at the higher discount.
Solution hypothesis:
If we develop a portal and associated mobile app that would allow food producers to increase revenue and gain new customers by selling the food at the reduced prices, later in the evening then no meal in Sarajevo would be thrown away.
If a consumer is offered a mobile app that would make an easy discovery of such food, based on their current position, and a possibility to pay and reserve the meal through the app then he/she would be more inclined to make a purchase.
If a consumer is offered a heavily discounted meal, snack or grocery food then he/she would buy it regardless of special conditions implied (late night buying).
If the food the customer bought is of the same quality and size as when in a regular offer then he/she will use the app again.
Prototype:
Mockups of the future mobile app which will allow anyone to find, make orders and pay for overproduced food in Sarajevo are attached.
Mockup 1: Customer can overview his/her orders but also choose to get real-time notifications of the participating restaurants’, cafés’, groceries’ daily surplus meals and treats according to his/her diet, maximum distance, favourite venues…etc. settings and other preferences.
Mockup 2: Restaurants, cafés and groceries near the customer offering deals are marked on the map. Customer can select them to scroll through what’s on offer. There is a quick description and a link to their pages to check them out first before ordering.
Mockup 3: Once the customer identifies a deal, he/she reserves the meal and makes an in-app payment. Pick-up is according to his/her convenience if the restaurant is still open. Customer is encouraged to bring his/her food box, otherwise pays for a container (SFF branded, aluminium-made).
Lessons learned: Initial market research results have suggested that Sarajevo is ready for this service. Food waste is a major issue, and people from both restaurants, cafes, grocery stores (owners) and the general population (especially students) are eager to make the most of the resources at hand.
The foodservice sector is large and versatile in Sarajevo. The talks we had indicated the issue of traffic and parking. We are exploring the possibility of having delivery as an optional add-on service, but the primary goal remains to get as much of the food as possible to people who are living or working nearby food producers, in order to minimize environmental impact. People in Sarajevo still prefer paying in cash. The promise of paying with cash is risky for business owners, so we decided to include the review of the buyers as well, not only the sellers.
Sustainability and indicative resources: Sustainability prospects and reflection on how much time and what resources are needed to implement the solution. As it is impossible for restaurants, cafés or groceries to forecast the exact demand, there will always be some surplus food produced. With Sarajevo Food Finder (SFF) the producers can then sell the surplus food, e.g. at cost of ingredients plus a calculated fraction that goes to SFF on every transaction and reduces their loss. If an average meal price is around 3 KM and SFF takes 7% = 0,21 KM/meal and we manage to sell 200,000 meals through the per year (around 550 meals a day) that generates an income of 42,000 BAM which is enough to sustain a product and achieve Return of Investments in 5 years. Plus, if 30% of buyers buy our branded SFF food container we could expect additional 10,000 KM of profit per year. Timeline for the implementation of the app is as follows: some data Indicative resources for the development of the app are as follows: some data Indicative resources for sustaining the system (system organization, expected incomes and expenses breakdowns): some data