BY
Gwen Tan

Social Media Head

Hype Issue #66

Published on

June 27

2025

In a city that prides itself on food, Gwen Tan explores a growing and often overlooked issue—Singapore’s mounting food waste problem.

In 2023 alone, a study by the National Environmental Agency (NEA) found that the total amount of food waste generated in Singapore was about 755,000 metric tons. Even more striking, food waste accounted for 11 per cent of the total waste generated in Singapore. With the Semakau landfill estimated to run out of space by 2035, food waste is not just an environmental concern—it is a ticking time bomb. 

About 1 Billion meals get thrown away everyday. Photo Credit: Poppy Fontaine Blogs

Fighting Waste, One Surprise Bag at a Time

That’s where Yindii comes in. Designed to tackle the issue head-on, Yindii is a food rescue platform that connects users with restaurants, bakeries and cafes offering surplus food at discounted prices. Through its surprise bag model, customers receive a curated bag of unsold food items- perfectly good but otherwise destined for the bin. This model helps businesses recover costs while giving users a chance to enjoy more affordable meals sustainably.

An infographic on how to use Yindii.  Photo Credit: yindii_sg on Instagram

Making Leftovers Make Sense

 As leftover food remains a sensitive topic for many F&B businesses. Concerns about brand image often discourage brand owners from offering markdowns on unsold items, as this could be easily exploited. 

According to Terry Quek, Business Development Manager at Yindii Singapore, “Many merchants are hesitant to run end-of-day promotions because they worry it may lead to customers expecting discounts. So instead, food gets quietly discarded.” 

Yindii’s surprise bag system offers a workaround. This enables businesses to package unsold food into mystery grab bags which are offered at a fixed discounted price. While customers do not know exactly what they are receiving, this approach allows merchants to sell unsold food at a discounted price.

Food items you could get in Yindii’s Surprise Grab Bag. Photo Credit: @chngcecilia on Instagram

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Being more than just a sales tool, Yindii equips businesses with essential data about their environmental contribution. For example, it shows how much carbon emissions they’ve helped reduce, making the impact easier to see and understand.

 “When merchants see that reducing food waste aligns with their values and can even strengthen how they are perceived, they become more open to making it part of their operations,” Mr Quek adds.

 By rebranding “unwanted food” into something value-for-money and environmentally sustainable, Yindii is helping shift industry mindsets toward a more sustainable future.

A Youthful Appetite for Change

 This perception shift is especially evident among Singapore’s youth, who are leading the charge toward more mindful and responsible food consumption. While businesses do play a vital role in reducing food waste, it is the youth who are spearheading this change. More than just users, they are becoming sustainability advocates who are conscious of their everyday choices.

One of them is Kairos Tay, 19, a Year 3 student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He discovered Yindii through the social media platform, Instagram, when scrolling through food content. What caught his attention was not just the discounted meals, but also the company’s mission. 

“I’ve always cared about sustainability and cutting down on waste,” Kairos says. “When I saw cafes offering good food at cheaper prices, it really made me think.”

Using the app aligns with how he tries to live – bringing his own containers, avoiding fast fashion, and taking public transport when possible. So, Yindii is not just useful; it also supports the values he cares about.

He admits the app is not perfect. “Sometimes the pickup spots aren’t close, and the best deals go fast,” Kairos says. “But if you’re flexible, it’s definitely worth it.”

It’s clear that Singapore’s youth are not just observers in the sustainability movement—they are playing a pivotal role. They see caring for the environment as part of who they are, and apps like Yindii provide them with practical ways to make a difference both in their own lives and communities.

Educating for a Greener Future

What sets Yindii apart is its emphasis on education. The app not only promotes sustainable consumption but also encourages users to build better habits at home. 

While consumers save money and reduce waste, they are also learning tips and tricks to make more informed decisions in their lives. Simple habits, such as freezing bread to extend its shelf life, removing the yellowed parts on vegetables or even relying on senses instead of “best before” dates. These are small but meaningful steps that Yindii promotes and encourages on their platform. 

These small changes can make a real difference when done consistently. Through in–app reminders and pop-ups, Yindii encourages users to rethink how food is handled at home. It is a practical way to build more sustainable habits, one meal at a time. 

Pop-ups showing the contribution of the Yindii Community on the app. Photo Credit: Yindii Singapore

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The Road Ahead

 As Yindii continues to grow, the broader question remains. How much progress has Singapore made in reducing food waste- and what more needs to be done?

Kairos believes that there is progress, but there is still room for improvement. “There’s more awareness now than [there was] before, but it would be great to see more education in schools and workplaces, and maybe even more incentives for people to adopt greener habits.” 

Mr Quek echoes that sentiment, noting that Yindii has on-boarded over 100,000 users and currently clears about 70 percent of the food listings on its platform. However, many merchants are still discarding food that could easily be rescued. He emphasises that changing long-standing habits takes time and trust, and by showing that food rescue initiatives such as Yindii can align with both sustainability goals and business interests, more merchants can be brought into their programme. 

Yindii’s business model keeps things simple and accessible, charging only a small “success fee” without any additional cost. Even with minimal advertising, the platform has been growing steadily, reflecting the rising demand for sustainable alternatives and solutions. 

As Singapore moves towards its 2030 sustainability goals, it is clear that change does not need to come from large gestures or implementing new laws. Sometimes, it begins with something as simple as a mystery grab bag of surplus food, a student scrolling on their phone, or a business rethinking what to do with its excess food.