Student app seeks supermarket sweep of support

Published On Mon 8 Jul 2019 by Dominic Glasgow

An app designed to reduce food waste by listing overstocked items in real time is ready to hit the shelves, thanks to a University of Dundee student.

Foodito, a mobile-based app developed by second-year student Donavere Benjamin-Mohan and a team of fellow students from across the UK, could revolutionise supermarket shopping by informing customers when overstocked items go on sale.

However, the app could be resigned to the footnotes of history before it is launched if it does not pass an online vote by the public, the next step in the global start-up competition.

Competing against 52 other regions in the Global Startup Weekend Sustainable Revolution, the 21-year-old from London said any votes cast before Saturday 13^th July could help his team secure a spot at the ChangeNow Summit 2020 final in Paris.

He said, “Supermarkets currently waste around 43 billion pounds worth of food every year, whilst at the same time around 36 million people each year die of starvation. Our app creates a radical, affordable, yet sustainable way of shopping to prevent food waste in supermarkets.

“By giving power back to the customer, we hope to reduce food waste, increase the sale of reduced items and help nurture a viable alternative to having to rely on food banks. By casting your vote we might be able to take our app even further.”

Donavere, who studies International Relations and Politics, is currently interning with the British Council in China. He hopes to advance to the next stage in the competition and attract investment that could see Foodito become a must-have app.

The team behind the Foodito include; Theresa Dodoo, a Mathematics with Finance student from Queen’s University Belfast, Ella Porter, 3D Design graduate from Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Natalia Jagielska, Masters Graduate in Geology from the University of Manchester, Monika Ewa Kurnicka, International Business student from Cardiff University, Patryck Polsndki, Marketing student from Brunel University and Jenna Chan, Business student from Pearson Business School.

To vote for Foodito please visit: https://uod.ac.uk/2S1VEci

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk