--- title: "Eat Cloud: The Startup that Leverages Technology to Minimize Food Waste and Reduce Hunger in Colombia" url: https://www.seedstars.com/content-hub/life/eat-cloud-startup-leverages-technology-minimize-food-waste-and-reduce-hunger-colombia/ --- 1. [HOME](/) 2. [RESOURCES](/content-hub/) 3. [SEEDSTARS LIFE](/content-hub/life/) 4. EAT CLOUD: THE STARTUP THAT LEVERAGES TECHNOLOGY TO MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE AND REDUCE HUNGER IN COLOMBIA ![Eat Cloud: The Startup that Leverages Technology to Minimize Food Waste and Reduce Hunger in Colombia](https://seedstars-com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/eatcloudheader.max-1500x500.png) LATIN AMERICA • FOOD & BEVERAGES ## Eat Cloud: The Startup that Leverages Technology to Minimize Food Waste and Reduce Hunger in Colombia Maria Camila Albornoz NOVEMBER 2, 2020 [EatCloud](https://www.eatcloud.com/), the food tech startup with a social impact, is one of the fourteen startups participating in the [Expansion Program](https://www.seedstars.com/magazine/mintic-appsco-and-seedstars-are-launching-digital-expansion-program-colombian-startups/). EatCloud not only fights against hunger but also reduces food waste in Colombia. The startup was founded in 2019 by three passionate brothers who are experts in technology and the food industry. **What is EatCloud? Please describe it as a product.** EatCloud is a startup that reduces food waste and fights against hunger, generating social, economic, and environmental impact.Our digital platform connects the entire food ecosystem (supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, etc.) and the social ecosystem (food banks and charity foundations), acting as a bridge between surplus food that cannot be sold or consumed with people in need. Our business model makes it possible to increase the amount of food available among the poorer population and significantly reduces food waste. Moreover, it prevents the food industry from financial loss and generates new streams of economic, social and environmental benefits. ![eat3](https://seedstars-com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/11.width-800.png) ### **What motivated you to start EatCloud?** We saw the opportunity to apply our knowledge at the intersection between technology and food management. While working in the food industry, we witnessed firsthand how many products were thrown away. So we set out to tackle the social, environmental and economic problems related to the management of food in the country, which are the following:Social: One third of the food produced worldwide is thrown away, while at the same time one person in nine got to bed hungry.Environmental: Food waste causes 8% of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.Economic: Food waste costs the industry $1.5 USD trillion per year. ### **How does the app work? How technology helped achieve the value proposition of the company?** There are 4 key steps of how the platform works and how we did it. 1. EatCloud identifies the food categories most at risk of being discarded. How do we do that? With select retailers, we make it possible using automatic interfaces, while in other cases, we allow users to publish their food through our web app. 2. EatCloud selects the ideal beneficiary. Assisted by AI, EatCloud matches food providers with the beneficiary organizations based on parameters such as volume, consumption capacity, location, and specific characteristics of the population served. 3. EatCloud tracks food from the point of donation to the moment an end consumer receives it. Our system provides two points of control. It scans the food for quality and confirms if it is suitable for consumption. 4. EatCloud shows detailed information on the entire process. We provide analytics on economic, social, and environmental outcomes, which is valuable information that we provide to the donor companies in the areas of: sustainability, commercial statistics, logistics, operations, and financials. ![eat4](https://seedstars-com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/22.width-800.png) ### **COVID-19 has impacted the majority of companies and startups; how is EatCloud coping with the current situation?** The outbreak of COVID-19 was an opportunity to launch our model, which happened to be linked with our main purpose “Serve on Scale”. Ninety days after the outbreak, we expanded our operations in Colombia, from 2 to 230 towns and cities. This exponential growth made us rethink our operations and many processes so that we can eventually serve the entire country. During the COVID crisis, the expansion of operations to 230 towns and cities in Colombia has allowed us to connect over 1,700 POS (point of sale), 19 food banks, and more than 1,900 organizations that serve vulnerable groups. EatCloud has mobilized over 6,500 tonnes of food, which represents almost 16 million plates of food for people in need, while at the same time we continue working to reduce food waste and combat worldwide hunger. **How can people contribute and be a part of EatCloud’s initiatives?** Agricultural producers, consumer brands, supermarkets, mini-markets, stores, bakeries, restaurants, and even people who do not want to waste food from home can contribute. Moreover, food banks and charitable foundations that serve vulnerable populations can also join. If you want to contribute, simply go to our website [eatcloud.com](https://www.eatcloud.com/) and follow the simple registration process. ![eat2](https://seedstars-com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/PHOTO-2019-12-13-18-01-49.width-800.jpg) **The second month of the Expansion Program has come to an end, share with us some highlights, learnings or experiences you gained during the past two months?** The knowledge, methodologies and key tools I have learned at the Expansion Program have defined our business path to expansion. Many countries have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and this knowledge is key to helping us understand how to contribute and create value for the food ecosystem. **To which countries would you like to expand your business? Why?** Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru. All these countries have cultural affinity and geographical proximity, and they also face a huge food waste problem. Players in these countries have not yet consolidated their business efforts to automate food waste processes, and today more than ever, it is important to support food sustainability models assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI). **What advice would you give to other companies that would like to apply to the next batch of the Expansion Program?** The program will undoubtedly help companies to understand their scaling potential, refine objectives and set proper operations to achieve those objectives. We highly recommend the program. * * * ### **EatCloud: la startup que reduce el desperdicio de alimentos y combate el hambre a través de la tecnología** [EatCloud](https://www.eatcloud.com/), la startup de alto impacto social en la industria de FoodTech es una de las catorce startups que hace parte del [Programa de Expansión de Negocios Digitales](https://www.seedstars.com/magazine/mintic-appsco-and-seedstars-are-launching-digital-expansion-program-colombian-startups/), no sólo combate el hambre en Colombia sino también reduce el desperdicio de alimentos en el país. EatCloud nace en el 2019 gracias a la experiencia y conocimiento de sus creadores, tres hermanos expertos en tecnología y conocedores de la industria de alimentos. **¿Qué es EatCloud (como producto)?** EatCloud es una startup que reduce el desperdicio de alimentos y combate el hambre, generando beneficios económicos, sociales y ambientales. Nuestra plataforma digital conecta el ecosistema alimentario (industria de alimentos, supermercados, restaurantes, hoteles, etc), y el ecosistema social (bancos de alimentos y fundaciones que atienden población vulnerable) actuando como un puente entre los excedentes de alimentos que no se logran vender o consumir y las personas que más los necesitan. Nuestro modelo aumenta dramáticamente las posibilidades de consumo, y reduce significativamente el desperdicio de alimentos, ahorrando cuantiosas pérdidas económicas al ecosistema alimentario y, generando beneficios económicos, sociales y ambientales. **¿Qué los motivó a crear EatCloud?** Nos encontramos cara a cara con el desperdicio de alimentos, mientras trabajábamos con nuestros clientes de la industria de alimentos. Cuando nos dimos cuenta cuanta comida botaban a la basura vimos la perfecta oportunidad para aplicar nuestro conocimiento y emplear plataformas tecnológicas con el propósito de resolver un problema social, ambiental y económico sin precedentes. Social: En el mundo se botan un tercio de los alimentos que se producen mientras una de cada 9 personas se acuesta con hambre. Ambiental: El desperdicio de alimentos causa el 8% de los gases de efecto invernadero en el mundo. Económico: El desperdicio de alimentos le cuesta a la industria 1.5 trillones de dólares al año. **¿Cómo funciona la aplicación y cómo la tecnología ha ayudado a cumplir con la propuesta de valor de la compañía?** A continuación los cuatro pasos clave para entender cómo funciona la aplicación y como lo hicimos posible: 1. EatCloud identifica los alimentos por categorías de riesgo de ser descartados. ¿Cómo lo hacemos? Con los retailers seleccionados lo hacemos posible por medio de interfaces automáticas mientras en otros casos le permitimos a los usuarios publicar la comida en la aplicación. 2. EatCloud selecciona al beneficiario ideal. Asistido por inteligencia artificial, la plataforma conecta a los proveedores de alimentos con las organizaciones basadas en parámetros como volumen, consumo, capacidad, localización y características específicas de la población atendida. 3. EatCloud rastrea los alimentos desde el punto de donación hasta el momento en el que el consumidor final lo recibe. Nuestro sistema provee dos puntos de control, escanea la calidad de los alimentos y confirma si está en buen estado para el consumo. 4. EatCloud provee información detallada sobre todo el proceso. Además, comparte un análisis de resultados económicos, sociales y medioambientales a las empresas donantes que se centran en diferentes áreas como: sustentabilidad, estadísticas comerciales, logísticas, operacionales y financieras. **El COVID-19 ha impactado a todas las industrias ¿Cómo EatCloud ha logrado manejar o adaptarse a esta situación de pandemia?** El brote del COVID-19 fue una oportunidad para lanzar nuestro modelo el cual está directamente ligado con nuestro principal objetivo: Servir en escala. Noventa días después desde que empezó la pandemia, ampliamos nuestras operaciones en Colombia, de 2 a 230 pueblos y ciudades, crecimiento exponencial que nos hizo repensar nuestras operaciones y procesos para que estemos en la capacidad de servir a todo el país. La expansión mencionada anteriormente nos ha permitido conectar más de 1,700 POS (puntos de venta), 19 bancos de alimentos y más de 1,900 organizaciones que atienden a grupos vulnerables. EatCloud ha movilizado más de 6.500 toneladas de alimentos, lo que representa casi 16 millones de platos de comida para personas necesitadas, mientras que al mismo tiempo seguimos trabajando para reducir el desperdicio de alimentos y combatir el hambre en todo el mundo. **¿Quiénes pueden unirse a su iniciativa y ser parte del ecosistema EatCloud? ¿Cómo pueden hacerlo?** Pueden unirse productores agrícolas, marcas de consumo masivo, supermercados, minimercados, tiendas, panaderías, restaurantes e incluso las personas que no quieren desperdiciar alimentos desde su hogar. Igualmente pueden sumarse los bancos de alimentos y fundaciones que atienden población vulnerable. Sólo tienen que ingresar a [eatcloud.com](https://www.eatcloud.com/) y seguir un sencillo proceso de registro. **El programa de Expansión de Negocios Digitales completa su segundo mes de ejecución, cuéntanos algunas experiencias o aprendizajes en estos dos meses.** El programa de expansión de negocios digitales nos ha aportado conocimiento en metodologías y herramientas claves, para definir con claridad nuestra ruta crítica de expansión de mercado. Este conocimiento es clave en este momento en el que nuestra solución tiene el potencial de aportar al proceso de abastecimiento humanitario de alimentos a muchos países afectados por el COVID y desde luego de generar amplio valor al ecosistema alimentario. **¿A qué países de Latinoamérica planean expandirse ? ¿Por qué?** Nuestra primera etapa de expansión apunta a México, Brasil, Argentina, Chile y Perú, países con afinidad cultural y cercanía geográfica en los que se desperdician millones de toneladas de alimentos. Estos países aún no se consolidan jugadores que automaticen su rescate y en los que hoy más que nunca es imperativa la adopción de nuestro modelo de sostenibilidad alimentaria asistida por inteligencia artificial. **Luego de vivir la experiencia en el programa de Expansión de Negocios Digitales con el Mintic y Apps.co qué mensajes le darían a las empresas que a futuro quieren participar de estas convocatorias.** Esta convocatoria sin duda les ayudará a afinar la mira, y encontrar de manera costo eficiente el centro de la diana al que deben apuntar sus esfuerzos. Recomendamos ampliamente este proceso. 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