Case story FoodOp

FoodOp has a vision to reduce food waste and help canteens, restaurants and hotels to measure and reduce their food waste. With FoodOp, chefs get a digital tool that can measure food waste and guests' preferences. They can use these insights to optimize future menus based on composition, quantities and climate footprint.

FoodOp came across this idea due to a lack of knowledge about how much of the food was eaten and how much food ended up in the garbage can. 

FoodOp contacted us and we talked about different solutions, at a concept level. First we talked about a camera that could film the buffets or a spoon that could weigh the food you scooped up on your plate. But it was important for FoodOp that the solution model were anonymous and didn’t take focus from the menu or the buffet. It was also important that the guests(users) were anonymous. We came up with the solution: a scale with sensors in it, which is placed under the serving dish. The scales automatically collect data on how much of the food is taken and wasted for each dish.

Throughout the process, usability was the primary design specification, which gave us a number of interesting challenges. One of the first challenges was the battery time, here we ended up with a design where the battery lasts over a year. Another challenge was how could the guests benefit from the solution? For that we developed removable and magnetic digital displays, which shows the users the dish is on the scale, allergens and the CO2 footprint of each dish.

Yet another challenge, the design of the scale should be able to withstand hot dishes and be part of an environment with food. By combining the competencies from Move Innovation's mechanics, design and construction department and FoodOps vision, we developed a design that lived up to the design specifications and today the solution helps solve one of the world's biggest climate challenges.