The milestone sits alongside 47.5 million meals already prevented from going waste in Ingka Group kitchens – and a UN food waste target met eight years early.
Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, and Too Good To Go today announce that together they have saved one million Surprise Bags with surplus food from going to waste. Since the partnership started in 2017, IKEA and Too Good To Go have demonstrated that managing surplus efficiently and engaging customers are not separate efforts, empowering Too Good To Go users to rescue good food across 14 countries and 240 IKEA stores. Since FY17, Ingka Group has cut production food waste in its kitchens by 60%, the equivalent of 47.5 million meals avoided.
“One million Surprise Bags saved with Too Good To Go is something we are genuinely proud of. It sits on top of our effort to reduce food waste in our kitchen production to the equivalent of 47.5 million meals since FY17. One is rescue. The other is prevention. You need both, but prevention has to come first,” says Connor Hill, Head of Circular, Ingka Group.
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with IKEA, saving 1 million Surprise Bags together. This milestone shows how collaboration can increase sustainable living, accessibility and affordability,” adds Mette Lykke, CEO of Too Good To Go.
A decade of cutting waste at the source
Ingka Group has been building a data-led approach to food waste since FY17. Working with Winnow, an AI food waste technology company Ingka Group has invested in since 2019, the group developed Waste Watcher — a real-time tracking tool now installed in 402 stores that identifies and reduces production food waste before it happens. This tool uses real-time tracking to identify and reduce production food waste before it occurs. By FY25, 402 of IKEA stores had installed Waste Watcher. Combined with historical data from Winnow, that infrastructure delivered a 60% reduction in production food waste, measured in grams per cover, across Ingka’s restaurants, bistros and Swedish Food Markets.
The result is 47.5 million meals’ worth of waste avoided, including 9.6 million in FY25 alone. In 2022, Ingka Group met the UN SDG 12.3 target, halving production food waste per cover in restaurant operations, eight years ahead of the global 2030 deadline. The work has not stopped.
One million Surprise Bags – and what that number means
As surplus varies, every day IKEA employees have the flexibility to include cinnamon rolls, cakes, salmon and other popular unsold items into Surprise Bags, and listing them into the Too Good To Go app helping unlock value from surplus while reducing food waste.
Customers reserve their Surprise Bag in the app at a significantly reduced price compared to the contents’ original retail value, arrive within the pick-up window set by the store, show their in-app receipt and receive a surprise mix of surplus food items.
The partnership launched with pilots in Belgium, Norway and France in 2019, expanded through Europe in 2020 and 2022, and reached Canada, the US and Great Britain in 2024, with pilots in Australia following in 2025.
Winnow data that already informs kitchen production forecasting feeds directly into Surprise Bag planning. Too Good To Go operates as part of daily food operations, not as a standalone activity.
What comes next
Having met the SDG 12.3 target, Ingka Group is now focused on extending the measurement frame. Plate-waste pilots are underway, tracking what guests leave on their plates beyond what is wasted in production. That data will feed into menu design, portioning and communication with guests.
IKEA is also working with Too Good To Go to help customers reduce food waste at home, through No-Waste Kitchen experiences in stores and campaigns tied to Earth Day, the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, and World Environment Day.
About Ingka Group
With IKEA retail operations in 32 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents 87% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on Ingka.com.
About Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go is a global social impact company operating the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food. Founded in 2016, it has helped save over 500 million meals from going to waste, with 120 million registered users and 180,000 active partners across 19 countries in Europe, North America and Australia.
Notes to editors
SDG 12.3 figures refer to production food waste (grams per cover) in Ingka Group restaurant operations, not the full supply chain. Milestone figures are as of 1 December 2025. The partnership has since expanded to 14 countries and 240 stores.
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