Every day, tons of food go to waste—not because it’s spoiled, but because it doesn’t fit the model of fast-moving supply chains, rigid inventory systems, or aesthetic standards. But a new generation of startups is flipping that script.

From AI-powered logistics to smart fridges in malls and community kitchens in repurposed spaces, these innovators are building a circular food economy—one meal at a time.

Take Replate, for instance, which started in 2016. Founded by Hachem Mahfoud and his brother, it aims to help businesses donate surplus food to communities in need. The startup works with businesses on custom food rescue programs. 

“Essentially, we help businesses reduce food waste by ensuring any edible surplus goes to someone who can benefit from it. It’s always tailored to the specific client—there’s no one-size-fits-all model,” says Mahfoud.

Its recent project, No Time to Waste with Dubai Holding, enables restaurants to package their surplus food—like baked goods, pre-packed salads, or meals—and place it in fridges located in staff welfare areas in malls. Thus, cleaners, security personnel, and support staff have access to free meals every day.

The program has been running for six months. “This is part of our broader food rescue model,” says Mahfoud. “Just like people are used to recycling, we’re trying to introduce the mindset of rescue before compost.”

He adds: “We also work closely with The Waste Lab, who compost what can’t be saved. Together, we approach clients with a holistic view of the food cycle—donation first, composting second.”

One of Replate’s most ambitious efforts is taking shape in Expo City Dubai. “We operate a centralized kitchen where we collect near-expiry items—say, bread from Carrefour or hummus from another partner—and transform them into full meals. These meals are then distributed to labor camps to improve access to nutritious food, not just caloric intake.”

Mahfoud says it’s about making food systems more innovative and more inclusive. “We design and run customized food rescue programs for different businesses,” he says. “Whether it’s through food pickups, smart fridges, or centralized kitchens, the goal is the same: reduce food waste and increase food access.”

BUT IS THE MODEL FEASIBLE?

Replate, which has been operating food rescue programs across the MENA region, has spent the last few years building customized initiatives that help businesses reduce waste and redirect edible surplus to those in need. 

“Right now, our clients pay us to build and run these programs,” says Mahfoud. “But the truth is, it barely covers the cost of operations. We’re essentially functioning like a nonprofit.”

That has prompted Replate to rethink how it creates value, not just for communities but also for itself. Since early 2025, the company has been piloting a kitchen concept at Expo City Dubai designed to process near-expiry food into affordable, nutritious meals safely. The ambition is to shift from solely donation-based models toward something more commercially sustainable.

“We’re exploring a model where we can sell the meals,” Mahfoud adds. “Less than five dirhams or less than $2 per meal, or even a subscription model for companies or workers. Our research shows laborers typically spend $80 to $90 monthly on food. If we can provide better meals at a lower environmental cost—and give businesses a reason to support it—we can become part of a smarter food system.”

“We want clients to think of us as an alternative—just like they might pay a bit more for sustainable packaging, they can pay a little more to support food recovery that feeds people and reduces emissions.”

Replate is now exploring partnerships with food marketplaces and distributors to secure a steady stream of surplus ingredients. If successful, Mahfoud says, the initiative could launch commercially by the end of 2025.

However, even as the company sees a sales model, demand for food rescue remains strong, especially from organizations looking to align with sustainability and ESG goals. “It used to be about social impact: feeding people. But now it’s environmental too. Around 9% of global methane and CO₂ emissions come from food that ends up in landfills,” Mahfoud points out.

That shift in awareness is opening new doors. “I always tell our clients: if you’re spending a million on marketing, why not put 5% toward something that makes a measurable difference? Every client is different, but we customize each project to raise awareness and prove the value. That’s how we scale—by showing that doing good isn’t a side hustle. It can be a business strategy.”

Startups like Replate are using various approaches to alleviate food waste by selling to consumers, businesses, or both.

Platable, another startup tackling food waste in the UAE, is taking a business-to-consumer approach. Salmaan Mohammed, CEO and founder of Platable, says, “Globally, food waste is a $1.3 trillion market. And this region is a major contributor. The UAE, in particular, wastes more food per capita than most countries—about 250 kilograms per person each year. That’s way ahead of Europe at 160 kg and the US at 180 kg. Saudi Arabia is even higher—around 400 kg per capita.”

Even more staggering: up to 40% of all food entering the UAE goes to waste, and not because it’s expired or half-eaten, but simply because it’s surplus. Citing an example of Dunkin’, he says he might send 1,000 donuts to a location, sell 600 to 700, and discard the remaining 300. That’s not mismanagement—it’s built into the model. “They need complete assortments on the shelf to meet customer expectations. But that leads to 15–20% in daily surplus.”

With Platable, Mohammed set out to solve a problem.

“You have major players like Talabat, Deliveroo, Noon—they’re all focused on growing a vendor’s top line, helping them sell more. But no one was focused on the bottom line—on helping vendors make money off what they were already losing.” 

That’s where Platable stands out. The platform allows food vendors to sell their daily surplus in what Mohammed calls “surprise boxes.” These are pre-packed assortments—like six donuts from Dunkin’, a salad from Common Grounds, or croissants from Saya Brasserie—offered at steep discounts to consumers willing to skip the step of choosing the exact items.

“They’re ‘suggested surprise boxes,’” says Mohammed. You know what category you’re getting and where it’s from, but not the exact mix. And because customers give up that flexibility, they get discounts of 40% to 60%—sometimes even more.

But Platable isn’t just a discount app. It’s a logistics solution for food waste, one that turns disposal costs into a revenue stream.

“We help vendors reduce waste-related costs and turn surplus into untapped profit,” he says. “At the same time, they become more sustainable and lower their greenhouse gas emissions.”

WHY IT MATTERS 

Food waste isn’t just an economic issue; it’s also a climate issue. Globally, 10% of greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste.

“We’re throwing away food that’s not even spoiled,” Mohammed says. “It’s untouched, surplus food. That’s what makes it worse.”

To develop the model, Mohammed studied global players like Too Good To Go, which operates in Europe and the U.S. “We spoke to the founders of Too Good To Go, learned what worked for them and what didn’t, and then adapted it for the UAE market. That’s how we built Platable.”

The result is a win-win: consumers access premium food at an affordable price, vendors cut losses, and everyone contributes to a more sustainable food system.

“Some of our users are conscious consumers—they want to reduce waste. Others want access to the Dubai lifestyle without the Dubai prices,” Salamaan adds. “Either way, it’s friendly on the wallet, great for the environment, and it makes business sense for everyone involved.”

Platable is currently backed by angel investors in the UAE.

“We believe we’ll be profitable with scale.”

“Eventually, we want to provide partners with ESG reporting—how much food they saved, how much carbon emissions they reduced, what value they passed on to customers,” explains Mohammed. “This data can help them track their impact.”

Platable is also in discussions with the UAE government and the UAE Restaurant Group to become a recognized partner in the country’s national food loss and waste initiative, which aims to cut food waste by 50% by 2030.

“Many say they care about sustainability, but few operationalize it,” says Mohammed. “We want to be the bridge that helps businesses actually take action.”

REPLATING WITH PURPOSE

Another group of innovators works directly with farmers to incentivize them not to throw away surplus produce.

Jakob Vermehren and Matthias, both Danish entrepreneurs who have lived in Dubai for several years, founded ResCube to innovate a frozen meal that is not only healthy and delicious but also convenient for the region’s fast-paced lifestyle.

“We saw that people here are busy — families rushing to school, professionals on the go — so convenience had to be a core part of our concept,” Vermehren says. 

But convenience alone wasn’t enough. The founders identified a significant issue with food waste, particularly among local farmers who are increasingly entering the UAE market to reduce reliance on imports. “Many vegetables from local farms are rejected by supermarkets simply because they don’t meet cosmetic standards,” says Vermehren. “It could be a carrot that’s too big, or one with imperfect leaves — but the produce is perfectly edible.”

Seeing this challenge as an opportunity, ResCube partnered with farmers across the UAE — from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, and even Fujairah — to source these “imperfect” yet nutritious vegetables. Their in-house chefs then craft recipes inspired by traditional, comforting dishes such as butter chicken, spaghetti Bolognese, and bourguignon.

ResCube employs advanced flash-freezing technology to maintain freshness and nutrition, rapidly cooling meals to minus 80 degrees Celsius. “This process preserves taste, texture, color, and nutrients,” Vermehren says. The meals are packed in freezer-friendly pouches, enabling customers to store them conveniently at home and heat them in just seven minutes — no delivery wait times, no prep, and no mess.

“People prefer easy, ready-to-eat meals that fit their hectic schedules. Our flash-frozen meals make that possible, while also tackling the massive food waste problem in the UAE.”

Having been in operation for six months, Vermehren says one of the main challenges—and opportunities—for scaling is understanding the volume and variety of rejected produce from local farmers and suppliers. “Farmers often don’t realize how much gets rejected until it’s physically inspected,” Vermehren says. For example, a carrot that initially seems fine might later be discarded due to cosmetic imperfections.

Matching the supply of these surplus vegetables to the demand for meals on Rescube’s menu remains an ongoing challenge. Vermehren emphasized they are actively optimizing this process and exploring AI technology to help manage the supply chain more efficiently.

On the customer side, Vermehren observed that about half of their buyers are motivated by convenience, while the other half are attracted by the meals’ sustainability aspect. 

He also pointed out a cultural insight: “Most of our customers are women, which might be linked to Middle Eastern cultural norms where women typically handle food decisions in the household. Women tend to be more interested in sustainability, whereas men focus more on nutritional value and convenience.”

Importantly, customers rarely see the imperfect vegetables that go into the meals because the produce is pre-cooked and incorporated into dishes like spaghetti Bolognese. Vermehren adds, “This removes any hesitation from customers—they don’t have to think about the ‘imperfect’ look because it’s already blended into the meal.”

Because Rescube sources surplus produce at reduced prices—since farmers cannot sell these items at full price and otherwise face losses from waste—they can offer meals at affordable rates. “For example,” Vermehren said, “one 750-gram bag serving two portions is sold for $10, or roughly $5 per meal. This is quite competitive compared to other meal kits or plans in the UAE.”

Looking ahead, Rescube plans to expand beyond local farms and work with importers to rescue rejected vegetables from international sources as well. Discussions are underway with major retailers to broaden the scope of their sustainable sourcing.

“Ultimately, our goal is to create a new category of frozen meals that’s good for people, farmers, and the planet,” Vermehren says.

Food waste won’t be solved overnight. But these startups are redefining how we think about waste, value, and convenience, proving that innovation can drive real change far beyond the plate.