your fridge is overflowing? the Reat platform helps you share rather than throw away

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“150 kilos of food are thrown away each year per person in France”. This Wednesday October 16, 2024World Food Day reminds us of the importance of reducing food waste. This is precisely the mission of Reata platform inspired by peer-to-peer sales sites like Leboncoin, where everyone can sell or donate their unused food products, to give them a second life. The creator, passionate about digital technology and concerned about the environment, developed this concept in response to a personal observation: domestic food waste. “Everyone has something in their cupboard that is going to expire soon. Why not share it with someone instead of throwing it away? », questions Sébastien Desay.

To use Reat, simply register on the platform. After creating their account, the user can post an ad by filling out a very simple form. This includes essential information such as the product category, the expiration date (DLC), the price, and photos clearly showing the packaging and the date.

Varied foods, but always packaged

The variety of products offered is wide: frozen foods, prepared meals, gluten-free products, dairy products, drinks… everything is good as long as the products have not been unpacked. The main idea is to offer foodstuffs that are still consumable but that their owners will not use in time. Users must also specify whether they are selling or donating the food. When a product is offered, it is necessary to specify a price of 0 euros, which allows you to differentiate between donation offers and discounted sales. The foods in question may come from unsold items from a household or surplus after excessively generous purchases.

One of Reat’s main goals is to build a real community around the fight against food waste. For the moment, the platform has around a hundred subscribers. However, only a small fraction of them have ever posted ads, as many users come mainly to look for products. “I would like to encourage more people to take the plunge and post their own ads,” explains Sébastien Desay. He hopes that by creating a sense of community, users will become more willing to interact. The ads are also geolocated, which allows each user to know what is available around them. Food can be offered in any region of France, without limitation. It is thus possible to find products in areas as varied as Montpellier, Seine-Saint-Denis or even isolated villages.

Reat also focuses on a secure user experience. Exchanges between sellers and buyers take place only via the site’s integrated messaging, thus avoiding revealing personal information. The creator moderates each ad before it goes online to ensure product compliance and ensure they meet strict food safety rules.

The fight against waste, an international challenge

In France, food waste is an increasingly worrying problem. Every year, 10 million tonnes of food are thrown away, around half of which is thrown away by households. “When we know that nearly 5 million tonnes of still packaged food end up in the trash, it is urgent to do something,” underlines the founder. The site also aims to respond to another social reality: more and more people, particularly students, are having difficulty eating properly. By offering the opportunity to find free or discounted food products, Reat hopes to help solve this problem while combating waste.

“When we know that nearly 5 million tonnes of still packaged food end up in the trash, it is urgent to do something”

Launched on October 1, Reat is only just beginning, but there are many development prospects. “If the project grows, it is obvious that the creation of a mobile application will be a priority,” envisions the creator. Other ideas are also being studied, such as the introduction of products with a best before date (best before date) or the creation of a virtual currency to encourage exchange between users. What if tomorrow, instead of throwing away that packet of pasta or that can, you offered them on Reat? A few clicks might just be enough to feed someone else.

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