What does Olio do?
Olio connects people with businesses in their communities so that surplus food and household items can be given away instead of being thrown away.
How did London & Partners help you?
London & Partners has helped Olio enormously throughout its growth journey. Olio went on various trade missions with London & Partners which provided great opportunities to learn from trailblazing digital leaders and to build a strong network of peers.
Why is London a great place to set up and grow a sustainable business?
The London ecosystem for sustainability and tech startups is absolutely brilliant! There are so many accelerators, events, investors and of course other startup founders. Olio benefitted from the Mayor's International Business Programme (the predecessor of the Grow London Global programme). London also has lots of venture capital firms and impact investment funds that are eager to support sustainable businesses.
What steps are you taking to become a greener business?
Olio has the Food Waste Heroes Programme, which enables businesses such as Tesco, Pret a Manger, Booker, Compass Catering and many more to have zero food waste locations. As the race to net zero is now fully underway, businesses with food operations have realised they have to work with Olio to achieve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.
How has your company grown in the last couple of years?
In 2022 alone, Olio had 1.5 million new users sign up globally. More than 9m items were shared on the app in the UK in 2022, a 167% increase on the previous year. But what’s most exciting is that Olio is doing less than 0.01% of its full potential! So, imagine what we can do as we scale.
Does your presence in London help your company progress faster?
Olio has benefitted from programmes such as the Mayor of London’s International Business Programme – which took the company on an incredibly helpful and inspiring trade mission to Silicon Valley, as well as the rich ecosystem of events, investors and peers which have enabled Olio to learn fast and unlock funding.
London is also leading globally in the emerging Tech4Good and impact spaces, so it’s been brilliant having that support as the company has been breaking new ground.
What are some challenges for your business in the sustainability field?
Perhaps the biggest challenges have been driving consumer behaviour change, ie encouraging people to give away their spare food and other household items, rather than throw them away; and fundraising as a female founded, Tech4Good business.
Thankfully Olio has made good progress on both fronts: more than 6 million people have joined Olio and they’ve successfully given away more 70m portions of food and 6m household items; and the company has now raised more than $50m to help fuel growth.
In your opinion, what is London doing well in the sustainability field?
Three years ago, London was named by NESTA as the number one European city for developing and growing Tech4Good solutions, addressing humanity’s greatest social and environmental challenges.
Find out how we can help you bring your business to London. Plus, learn more about the Grow London Global programme (formerly known as the Mayor of London's International Business Programme).