The startup Connecting Food is urging delivery platforms 99Food and Keeta to join talks on reducing food waste in Brazil, following its success in involving iFood. The company uses technology to connect producers and merchants with institutions that distribute surplus food suitable for consumption to the needy population.
The Connecting Food startup, focused on fighting food waste, is now extending its call to the newcomers 99Food and Keeta, after mobilizing iFood to discuss responsibilities in the delivery sector. Founded nearly a decade ago, the company links food producers and merchants with organizations that redistribute suitable surplus for human consumption, preventing unnecessary disposal.
Since 2022, Connecting Food has led the Todos à Mesa project, a coalition including iFood, Carrefour, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. This initiative implements actions to optimize food distribution in the country and has collaborated with lawmakers to advance relevant legislation. A recent milestone is the approval of Law 15.224/25, establishing the National Policy to Combat Food Loss and Waste, which provides tax incentives and credits to companies adopting waste-reduction practices. The startup hopes this law will attract more clients from the food sector.
Its current clients include GPA (owner of the Pão de Açúcar chains), Carrefour Brazil, Assaí, Accor, and Bauducco. Over its history, Connecting Food has prevented the waste of 20,000 tons of food and reduced polluting gas emissions by 50,000 tons.
Alcione Pereira, the founder and former CEO of the company, emphasizes that the redistributed surpluses are food suitable for consumption, not residues. "There are players in the market that collect waste and direct it to social organizations. We condemn this practice," Pereira states. Unlike initiatives like Food to Save, which sell bags of near-expiry products at reduced prices, Connecting Food focuses on donations compliant with tax and sanitary regulations, preserving the commercial value of items only up to the point of redistribution.
