Jamie Crummie and Lucie Basch

Both 29 / London, UK and New York, USA

From London and Paris

“If you buy it, eat it” is the simplest advice that food waste disruptors Jamie Crummie and Lucie Basch can give – and one that perfectly describes the philosophy behind Too Good To Go, the company they co-founded in 2016. Via its free mobile app, Too Good To Go connects consumers with restaurants, cafés, hotels and supermarkets, allowing them to buy a ‘magic bag’ full of surplus food at a reduced price. Now active in 15 countries, the company has empowered 27 million users, prevented 51 million meals from going to landfill and saved 90,000 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent to 17,000 flights around the world.

Such success can only come from serious passion. Jamie, a London-born lawyer, began thinking about how to tackle food waste as a teenager, when he saw the sheer quantity of food that was thrown away during stints working in the hospitality sector. Meanwhile, Parisian engineer Lucie got her own glimpse of the extent of the problem while working in food processing. After launching Too Good To Go in France, Lucie is now taking the company global as Chief Expansion Officer, while Jamie is its Director.

Beyond world domination, Jamie and Lucie are flexing their activist muscles in other areas, pushing for impact at five levels: households, businesses, schools, public affairs and the app itself, which is now the world’s largest marketplace for leftover food. They have worked with international governmental bodies and have engaged more than 1,000 primary school children on the topic of food waste. Jamie expresses the pair’s commitment to the cause with the ultimate statement: “Success for us would mean going out of business because food waste doesn’t exist.”

“The true value of food is far more than the mere cost. It’s far too precious to throw away.” – Jamie Crummie