Submitted
Sustainable Food Systems

PeriDeals

Team Leader
Josh Haber
Solution Overview
Solution Name:
PeriDeals
One-line solution summary:
The free app that gives users real-time access to the BEST local markdown deals on perishable foods available at local grocery stores.
Pitch your solution.

Grocers routinely overstock perishable inventory to offer a better selection. When surplus items approach sell-by date, they are usually discounted, but still don't sell because the only way to browse these markdowns is to physically be in the store. Food insecurity is a BIG problem throughout the country, and food pantries offer primarily nonperishable foods. Students at my school, CSULB, were actually complaining about the limited perishable selection at the school pantry.

PeriDeals is a free app that connects users with local markdown deals on perishable foods in real-time. 

If scaled globally, we would help fuel our global community to cultivate health, equality, and resilience. Bill Gates says, "When everyone plays, we all win." PeriDeals is committed to making sure the ENTIRE TEAM has enough to eat before the big game. Imagine a future where a single mother can afford milk for her child's cereal just because of an app.

Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?

Given the scale of food waste and food insecurity in the United States, we are focused on addressing these issues domestically before taking our solution abroad. Before Covid-19, the United States wasted on average over 130 billion lbs of food each year, and grocers were responsible for 10% of this or over 13 billion lbs of food waste. After Covid-19, in the "new normal", food waste and food insecurity have become much worse while grocery prices soar.

41% of students in the CSU System are food insecure, 65% of those food insecure students are African American, and food insecurity directly interferes with student success. According to the Director of Corporate Affairs for the California Division of Kroger, Vanessa Rosales (who is also our advisor), the starving college student archetype has grown much worse over the years and something must be done.

We have a unique foot in the door with Kroger, a brand that owns over 10% of all grocery stores in the United States. We plan to validate product-market-fit with students before expanding our target user demographic. There are over 5300 universities throughout the United States. If we onboard Kroger and Walmart then we onboard over 7500 stores nationwide.

What is your solution?

PeriDeals is a free app that allows users to browse local markdown deals on perishable foods in real-time. By securely integrating with the inventory management software of the stores we partner with, we can automatically and reliably promote time sensitive markdown deals on surplus perishable inventory in real-time. We currently have permission to pilot test this integration software with several Food 4 Less and Ralphs locations in Long Beach, Ca.

The next feature we intend to release streamlines the connection between grocers and food recovery organizations. By combining our real-time insights about store inventory with technology that sources on-demand pickup and delivery from the largest delivery fleet in America, Postmates, we intend to optimize the donation process to minimize food waste and maximize tax write-offs.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our target population is college students. Through my internship with the Basic Needs Program at CSULB, I learned about the limits of current resources available to food insecure students. What really stood out was that not all students had reliable access to perishable foods and many were complaining. I learned the school food pantry offers primarily non-perishable foods, and CalFresh Outreach on campus did not offer immediate assistance.

We created PeriDeals to offer students immediate assistance that improves accessibility to perishable foods. We began manually posting local deals three times a week, and the results were astonishing. Nearly 350 users signed up and after surveying these users, we took away the following insights.

1. Students want to save money on perishables

2. Students want as much variety as possible

3. Students want reliable promotions

4. Word of mouth marketing flourishes on college campuses


Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
  • Improve supply chain practices to reduce food loss, scale new business models for producer-market connections, and create low-carbon cold chains
Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

Students and food insecure communities in general do not have adequate accessibility to a balanced diet. The nutrients found in perishable foods simply cannot by substituted with non-perishable foods, so with that in mind it is imperative that consumer access to perishable foods improve. Grocery stores overstock perishables on purpose and because of this over 13 billion lbs of food is wasted by grocers in the United States each year. Not only could grocers make more money with this wasted food; but also millions of people could finally access the diet they need to unlock their full potential.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Long Beach, CA, USA
What is your solution’s stage of development?
  • Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model
Who is the primary delegate for your solution?
CEO- Josh Haber
More About Your Solution
About Your Team
Your Business Model & Funding
Partnership & Prize Funding Opportunities
Solution Team:
Josh Haber
Josh Haber
Founder