Have you ever wondered what happens to the leftover surplus food that has already been produced and cooked but not bought and eaten by customers? Some businesses and companies give away food to people in need for free. Others give away food to stray animals that wander the area and some allow food surplus to just pile up in storage. There are also instances where the food that is left behind and unsold spoils which then is disposed of. Some other restaurants just discard food that has been untouched but is very fresh and ready to eat
Unfortunately, statistics say that almost one-third of all food produced annually is wasted. When many people starving, dying, and malnourished from lack of food consumption, there are astonishingly many hotels, restaurants, and other food supply chain distributors that waste an immense amount of food every day.
There are so many people employed and working tirelessly to grow, harvest, care for, and work day and night to package, transport, and follow sustainable food distribution practices to retailers and customers as well. This is not just a waste of physical effort and labor by people, but it also affects the environment. When food surplus gets discarded by restaurants and hotels, the food surplus is taken and disposed of in landfills. When this disposed food starts decomposing, it releases a harmful gas called Methane. This methane gas is said to be a much more hazardous greenhouse gas emission than carbon dioxide.
To combat such challenges and hazardous consequences from disposing of surplus food waste, businesses, and companies encourage sustainability and initiatives in reducing food wastage by donating food to charities, reselling food by wholesale trade strategies, to needy people, to stray animals in the areas and communities, etcetera. Therefore in this article, we will be unveiling the innovative and creative sustainable strategy taken towards food waste reduction and decrease in CO2 emissions by creating and providing a platform where fresh and ready-to-eat surplus food is resold to customers and other restaurants and businesses through an online wholesale marketplace company – Barakah.
Abdulaziz Al-Saud – Co-founder and CEO at BARAKAH:
The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Barakah is Abdulaziz Al-Saud. An entrepreneurial, hard-driven, climate and environmental activist, as well as a walking inspiration to others.
“Blessings In Every Bite” – Barakah.
Having received an education in a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and History at SOAS University of London. Abdulaziz has since then wired in diverse roles and positions in the Middle East such as – Interning at the King Salman Youth Center, Macroeconomic Analyst at the Arabia Monitor, a MENA Consultant at Wyss&Partner, Founder of Arabian Power Ltd., and then finally the Co-founder and CEO of Barakah at Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Abdulaziz Al-Saud has a passion for sustainability initiatives – specifically in the fields of Renewable Energy and the Reduction of Food Waste. The co-founder has also volunteered as a Volunteer at VISIONS Service Adventures for Poverty Alleviation and as a Food Relief Volunteer at The Ministry of Social Affairs for Disaster and Humanitarian Relief.
Aim – “to drive customers into mindful decisions and heartful actions”.
Along with his 2 other co-founders – Munira Al Muammar and Rabah Habiss, Abdulaziz Al-Saud shared the same idea and passion for reducing and saving the wastage of surplus food produced as they believed that this could lead to a much more impactful solution towards the climate’s and biodiversity’s conservation and preservation. This led to the creation of a wholesale marketplace platform to elevate the retail sector in the food industry by reselling surplus food to customers and other SMEs.
For more interesting reads on articles, visit Entrepreneur Gulf.
BARAKAH:
The three co-founders of Barakah are Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Munira Al Muammar, and Rabah Habiss. The Chief Executive Officer is Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Barakah is an online wholesale trade marketplace that provides customers and SMEs allowing access and the platform for reselling surplus food produced by big restaurants, hotels, and other food supply chain distributors. Established in the year 2021, Barakah has its headquarters situated in Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Vision – “to enable the community through an essential daily activity of ordering food to do good – and feel the blessing”.
The co-founders report that around 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted on an annual basis. Being almost one-third of the complete food produced, a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes are just fresh and good food that is going to waste, as well a mind-boggling 40,480 million SAR in revenue is lost. Barakah says that almost 10% is contributed towards CO2 emissions from the decomposing food dumped in landfills. The start-up also uncovers and shares disheartening information that unsold food leading to surplus wastage generates a loss in revenue by restaurants and hotels in the food industry and is estimated to be at 35 million SAR. Barakah is a model in food security solutions due to its food sustainability initiatives.
To respond to this, unfortunately, persisting issue, the co-founders at Barakah incorporate technological innovations and creativity as their strategic operation to drive towards the vision of connecting foodies to their favorite restaurants and eatery outlets as well as helping SMEs to generate more revenue and sales and attract more customers by reducing food wastage. Buying from huge food supply chain distributors, Barakah resells still-fresh food to customers and SMEs through sustainable business practices. Providing live maps for easier search and navigation, access to order online through an app, offering pick-up and delivery services in sustainable packaging, and helping the communities reduce waste by taking sustainable actions so that the environment can complete “the circle of spiritual fulfillment”.