Luxembourg startup Food4All earlier this month to Estonia, where the app will be usable with supermarket chain Rimi. The app works by allowing users to purchase soon-to-expire ingredients from grocery store partners, normally at a discount, thus reducing food waste while helping people save money.
CEO Ilana Devillers told Delano that the company is currently setting up an office in Estonia.
Launched in 2018 and currently employing about 25 people, Food4All already counts Delhaize Luxembourg, the Pall Centre and others as partners. Rimi is the first supermarket outside Luxembourg to join, though Devillers says that Carrefour in France will be next.
The startup has also expanded its offer to restaurants, including Exki and Cocottes.
“You need to adapt to the culture”
The move to Estonia came about as part of an acceleration programme in 2021, in which Food4All participated and of which Rimi was a part. “At the end we basically won a contract with them,” Devillers explains.
Among the challenges of the international expansion are cultural differences, says the CEO. A big one is the language, but she also comments on the mentality of the population. “Estonian citizens are way more sensitised regarding food waste [than shoppers in Luxembourg],” she says.
“Our statistics, they don’t lie: we saw a huge boom in traction in Estonia,” she, adding that the country’s position near the Nordic countries lessens the surprise at the cultural centrality of sustainability.
“You also have the purchasing power of customers there, which is lower than in Luxembourg, obviously. So all of those criteria are linked.”
Devillers remains interested in expansion. “Our priorities are to develop in Europe,” she comments. “Unfortunately, food waste has no border—or fortunately, for us. That’s why we have an international scope.”
Office in Portugal
Prior to the partnership in Estonia, Food4All already had a back-office presence in Portugal, where its tech team and CTO are based. Devillers cites HR and cost reasons for this strategic move: “They have way more profiles [in Portugal] and it’s way more accessible, price-wise.”
“As a startup,” she adds, “you have limited resources, so you need to pay attention to where your budget goes. In Luxembourg, unfortunately, there are not so many profiles [that are] accessible and affordable for startups.”