Food wastage at buffets might be a thing of the past with Treatsure app
App allows diners to dabao 5-Star hotel buffet leftovers for as little as $10.50
Feel like an all-you-can-eat buffet, but left with just $10 in your wallet?
Well, if you don’t mind leftovers and a slightly late lunch, a hearty buffet meal is… an app away.
Tackling the issue of food wastage, the Treatsure app allows people to feast on offerings from various buffet restaurants in Singapore.
The only catch? Users are not allowed to eat at the venues – as such, they’re given takeaway boxes.
Launched in 2017, the application currently boasts 40,000 users, and the takeouts range from $7.50 to $10.50, depending on the location.
How it works:
- Download the app and choose the hotel or restaurant that serves a buffet meal. Treatsure users can usually visit after regular buffet hours.
- Make sure you are at the location during the stipulated time frame.
- Scan a QR code at the counter and pay, after which you’ll be given a takeaway box for loading your servings.
- And that’s pretty much it.
A writer for Business Insider recently went through the Treatsure process at Clove at Swissotel Stamford, where lunches on weekdays cost $68.
“I had been expecting to pick through leftovers, and instead was surprised to find many buffet trays were still filled to the brim with food,” wrote Insider’s Marielle Descalsota.
“I packed a dozen dishes from seafood curry to claypot rice to dessert. Other diners were busy piling food into their boxes, too — the biryani rice was especially popular.”.
The downsides, she pointed out, were that some dishes (the popular ones) were completely gone by the time her booking window began, and that the food was already lukewarm when she ate her food.
Speaking to the Insider, Treatsure co-founder Preston Wong said the idea for the app came about when he saw his family clearing expired items from their refrigerator.
"We launched the app to target food and beverage wastage," he said.
"I found that the food wastage problem was as challenging in the food industry as it was in households."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now