Refreshi Says it Saved 200,000 Meals from Landfill in SA

In Short

• Refreshi says users saved R12.5 million on groceries in the past year.
• The startup says it helped prevent 200,000 meals from going to landfill.
• Refreshi reports it expanded from 35 partner stores to 700 across South Africa.

What Happened

Refreshi, a South African surplus-food marketplace, published its first annual Grocery Savings Impact Report. Refreshi sells discounted surplus food, which is food that is still good to eat but would otherwise be thrown away by stores.

The startup’s app lists discounted “Surprise Bags” from grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants. Users pay in the app, then collect the bag during a scheduled pickup window, usually at the end of the day.

According to the report, Refreshi launched in Stellenbosch in March 2025 and has expanded to 700 participating stores by July 2026. It says it is adding 10 to 15 new stores per week. The report lists partners including Spar, Bootlegger, Vida e Caffe, King Pie, Chateau Gateux, Vovo Telo, Ou Meul, Newmark Hotels, and OK Mini Marks.

Refreshi says it now has more than 200,000 registered users and rescues over 20,000 meals per month. It also claims participating retailers recovered more than R10 million in revenue from surplus food that would have been written off as waste.

On environmental impact, the startup estimates each Surprise Bag rescues about one kilogram of food. Based on that, it reports avoiding about 500,000 kilograms of CO₂ emissions, conserving 120 million litres of water, and saving more than 400,000 square metres of agricultural land.

Why It Matters

Surplus-food apps sit at the intersection of cost of living and waste reduction. For households, the value is direct savings on groceries. For retailers, it creates a secondary revenue stream from food that would otherwise become a disposal cost.

Refreshi’s numbers also show how quickly a consumer marketplace can scale when it combines convenience, discounts, and simple logistics. If the company sustains its store onboarding pace, it could become a meaningful channel for retailers looking to reduce food waste while protecting margins.