“We wanted to develop a company that would produce some form of sustainable, positive impact on the world,” says Eddy Connors, who co-founded the mobile app Goodie Bag with Luke Siegert. The platform allows consumers to purchase unsold food from local eateries at a discount of 50 percent or more, and on November 20, it will launch in Denver.
According to Goodie Bag’s website, “Experts believe food waste is the number-one reason for climate change.” It also lists another shocking statistic: In the United States, “one hundred to one hundred-fifty billion pounds of food is wasted every year before reaching a consumer,” and restaurants contribute up to one-third of that figure.
Goodie Bag allows food businesses to salvage revenue from surplus and reach a new customer base while simultaneously reducing waste, thus lessening its environmental impact. Since its inception, Goodie Bag has diverted over 2,500 meals from the landfill. Additionally, the platform helps to mitigate food insecurity, something that its website says affects “one in three college students in America.”
Connors and Siegert debuted Goodie Bag shortly after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder. In the summer of 2022, they attended the Silicon Flatirons Startup Summer Program, a ten-week entrepreneurial course at CU. There they conceived the idea of Goodie Bag with two other students, one of whom had been introduced to a similar service while studying in London. Ultimately, the group’s concept won the program’s pitch competition.
“Being a broke college student, it was easy to recognize the need for more affordable food options,” comments Connors. He and Siegert also have experience in the restaurant industry and witnessed its food waste firsthand. “We realized that there was a huge need for this here in the United States, and particularly, it would be effective in college towns and servicing college students.”
According to Goodie Bag’s website, “Experts believe food waste is the number-one reason for climate change.” It also lists another shocking statistic: In the United States, “one hundred to one hundred-fifty billion pounds of food is wasted every year before reaching a consumer,” and restaurants contribute up to one-third of that figure.
Goodie Bag allows food businesses to salvage revenue from surplus and reach a new customer base while simultaneously reducing waste, thus lessening its environmental impact. Since its inception, Goodie Bag has diverted over 2,500 meals from the landfill. Additionally, the platform helps to mitigate food insecurity, something that its website says affects “one in three college students in America.”
Connors and Siegert debuted Goodie Bag shortly after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder. In the summer of 2022, they attended the Silicon Flatirons Startup Summer Program, a ten-week entrepreneurial course at CU. There they conceived the idea of Goodie Bag with two other students, one of whom had been introduced to a similar service while studying in London. Ultimately, the group’s concept won the program’s pitch competition.
“Being a broke college student, it was easy to recognize the need for more affordable food options,” comments Connors. He and Siegert also have experience in the restaurant industry and witnessed its food waste firsthand. “We realized that there was a huge need for this here in the United States, and particularly, it would be effective in college towns and servicing college students.”
Naturally, Goodie Bag launched in Boulder, starting with a rudimentary website and its one partner, local pizzeria Barchetta, where Siegert worked at the time. “We were selling their leftover pizza slices, and people were loving it. Barchetta was loving it. Soon enough, we were serving over a couple dozen shops in Boulder,” explains Connors.
Since its January inception, Goodie Bag has partnered with thirty restaurants, bakeries, cafes and markets in Boulder and Fort Collins — and many more will soon be available, given its market expansion. Denver app users can look forward to meals from all vendors within Denver Milk Market; My Vision Nutrition; Playa Bowls; Sonny's Mediterranean; Post Oak Barbecue (one of the metro area’s best BBQ joints); and several pizza options including Chicago tavern-style pies from Pizza 3.14 and Jimano's Pizzeria, as well as Napoletana wood-fired slices from Tony P's.
Denver partners also include Thump Coffee, Mob Coffee, Ti Cafe and Detox Juice, plus Yours Truly Cupcake, the Cake Bar and the Urban Cookie. Per Connors, Goodie Bag is open to working with “any willing shop with a physical pickup location that wants to address their surplus.”
However, Goodie Bag has placed a greater focus on working with small, local businesses. “We can be a little bit of a marketing arm for them because we expose them to new customers,” says COO Briana Boehmer. She mentions that when its partner Pekoe listed on Goodie Bag, it saw nineteen new visitors that day.
Since its January inception, Goodie Bag has partnered with thirty restaurants, bakeries, cafes and markets in Boulder and Fort Collins — and many more will soon be available, given its market expansion. Denver app users can look forward to meals from all vendors within Denver Milk Market; My Vision Nutrition; Playa Bowls; Sonny's Mediterranean; Post Oak Barbecue (one of the metro area’s best BBQ joints); and several pizza options including Chicago tavern-style pies from Pizza 3.14 and Jimano's Pizzeria, as well as Napoletana wood-fired slices from Tony P's.
Denver partners also include Thump Coffee, Mob Coffee, Ti Cafe and Detox Juice, plus Yours Truly Cupcake, the Cake Bar and the Urban Cookie. Per Connors, Goodie Bag is open to working with “any willing shop with a physical pickup location that wants to address their surplus.”
However, Goodie Bag has placed a greater focus on working with small, local businesses. “We can be a little bit of a marketing arm for them because we expose them to new customers,” says COO Briana Boehmer. She mentions that when its partner Pekoe listed on Goodie Bag, it saw nineteen new visitors that day.
When warranted, an eatery can promote its excess on Goodie Bag’s app, which features a brief description of the shop and a general idea of what to expect in its mystery bags. For example, Fort Collins-based bakery the Bread Chic states on its page, “Goodie bags may contain bread, pie, croissants, cinnamon rolls, cookies or other pastries.” Earlier this month, its large bag included a whole loaf of sourdough, a five-inch Palisade peach pie, and a seven-inch strawberry rhubarb pie — all for $6.
Boehmer uses no-waste Boulder grocer Nude Foods Market as another example. “They have these meal kits that are $29, and sometimes they don't sell out. I personally have bought some of these meal kits [via Goodie Bag for] $7, and they last for me four meals. It’s so much food, it’s amazing, and it’s organic.”
She explains that products and quantities depend on the vendor, but that the company suggests that partners offer a small and large mystery bag. The app also provides partners a way to specify if a bag is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free.
“We want to see it be the go-to marketplace for not only surplus food, but just an affordable option on a quality meal,” says Connorsm who, like the rest of the Goodie Bag team, affirms that the platform is for more than just college students. Its current users include people of all ages and circumstances, as the cost and environmentally conscious appeal of Goodie Bag resonate with a wide audience.
He adds, “We're going to continue to expand throughout Colorado and, ultimately, take Goodie Bag nationwide. We really hope that we can create a movement across the country.”
Boehmer uses no-waste Boulder grocer Nude Foods Market as another example. “They have these meal kits that are $29, and sometimes they don't sell out. I personally have bought some of these meal kits [via Goodie Bag for] $7, and they last for me four meals. It’s so much food, it’s amazing, and it’s organic.”
She explains that products and quantities depend on the vendor, but that the company suggests that partners offer a small and large mystery bag. The app also provides partners a way to specify if a bag is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free.
“We want to see it be the go-to marketplace for not only surplus food, but just an affordable option on a quality meal,” says Connorsm who, like the rest of the Goodie Bag team, affirms that the platform is for more than just college students. Its current users include people of all ages and circumstances, as the cost and environmentally conscious appeal of Goodie Bag resonate with a wide audience.
He adds, “We're going to continue to expand throughout Colorado and, ultimately, take Goodie Bag nationwide. We really hope that we can create a movement across the country.”
