Finnish food startup ResQ Club launched on Thursday its online marketplace for restaurant leftovers in towns of Turku and Jyväskylä, and said it now tops 5,000 registered users.
ResQ is in the centre of Finnish Lunchgate scandal, with rival Lunchie – which is in testing phase and promises to launch “very soon” – saying ResQ stole their idea of selling unsold portions of restaurants. ResQ and Lunchie are on the market two years after international pioneers like French OptiMiam, which raised 500,000 euros last month, launched their first services.
Reducing food waste is a big growing trend globally – with roughly half of produced food being actually eaten, and in Finnish restaurants 20% of eatable food usually dumped.
ResQ says its service offers typical Finnish restaurant 500-2000 euros of additional income each month, so far more than 30 restaurants have signed up.
