Seeking feedback on a turn-key sustainability service for food businesses

[rekiii]

Hi r/smallbusiness,

I’m developing a new service aimed at helping small food businesses reduce waste, save costs, and promote sustainability. This “turnkey solution” would be designed to make it easy for businesses to integrate various eco-friendly practices into their operations.

Here’s a brief overview of the proposed service:

1.  Food Waste Management - Setting up connections with platforms like Too Good To Go to help businesses sell surplus food 
2.  Reusable Packaging Solutions - setting up businesses with platforms like Deliverzero to enable reusable containers for takeout and delivery.
3.  Composting Services - Connecting businesses with local composting services some of which can turn that compost into food products like mushrooms.
4.  Sustainable Sourcing - offering a catalog to businesses of local and sustainable suppliers.
5.  Customer Engagement and Incentives - Integrating sustainability actions into existing loyalty programs (e.g., rewarding customers for bringing their own bags, cups, or containers).
6.  Technology and Data Analytics - Offering waste tracking and circular economy metrics to measure impact and improve practices.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the following:

• Relevance: Does this service address key pain points and needs of small food businesses?
• Usability: What features or services would be most beneficial or are missing from this solution?
• Implementation: What challenges do you foresee in integrating these solutions into daily operations?
• Additional Insights: Any other suggestions or ideas that could help improve this idea?

Thanks!

 

[vba]

@rekiii I sent you a PM. Thank you

 

[rekiii]

Great! Thanks

 

[mcpugh]

@rekiii Seems a benefit cost analysis is in order to determine if the proposed sustainability elements are economically feasible and commercially viable.

For example, LEED certification can increase the general cost of building construction by 20 percent or more. This is a big deal when your project cost $10 million.

Likewise, how much does reusable packaging cost, who pays to haul to compost, technology/analytics isn’t free, sustainable ingredients are more expensive, who ensures health compliance with reusable containers, etc.

Sustainable business practices have to be mutually beneficial for long term success.

 

[rekiii]

@mcpugh Great points! I’ll dig deeper and see what numbers I can model