By now, many of us have witnessed the heartbreaking scene at Ramadan bazaars every year: vibrant stalls packed with tantalising dishes, and yet, as the evening draws to a close, much of the food remains unsold.
For Falah Hamidi, one of the co-founders of ReMeal, this wasn’t just a passing observation—it was a call to action.
“I was shocked to see that at closing time, most stalls still had piles of unsold food,” Falah recalled.
“Coming from the UK, I was familiar with food surplus apps that help tackle this issue, but I found nothing similar in Malaysia.”
This realisation sparked the journey of ReMeal, a homegrown startup determined to tackle food waste while making sustainability accessible and financially rewarding for businesses.
From observation to action
The issue of food waste is not new; you definitely would have seen food surplus often making headlines. While volunteer-run organisations work tirelessly to redistribute excess food, scaling these efforts has always been challenging due to monetary constraints, Falah told Vulcan Post.
ReMeal was designed to bridge this gap. By offering cafes, bakeries, and restaurants a platform to sell their surplus food at discounted prices, the app provides a win-win solution: businesses recover some costs, consumers score great deals, and perfectly good food avoids landfills.
The app increases foot traffic to the eateries, potentially boosting sales, while also providing marketing content to enhance brand visibility for its partners.
The co-founders—Falah, Wan Emir Astar, Nur Syafiah, and Anis Suffian—bring their own blend of skills to the table, from tech development to business strategy.
The team only began serious development in December 2023, even though its website launched earlier in March 2023. By May 2024, the app debuted on Google Play with a “Join the Waitlist” feature.
Its first sale came in August with Celsius Coffee, marking a significant milestone. Another came along not long after.
“We consider Gula Cakery joining a few weeks ago as our official launch,” Falah explained. “They started selling immediately, and we’ve been gaining momentum ever since.”
At the time of writing, ReMeal has 16 active stores, including notable brands like Dotty’s, and Falah said 40 more vendors are in the onboarding process.
Tackling challenges in a nascent market
Globally, food surplus apps like Too Good To Go in Europe and Yindii in Thailand have been successful, but Malaysia has been slower to adopt this trend, said Falah. (Things are moving though, as just earlier this year, another Malaysian food surplus startup known as Paperbox popped up.)
“Starting any marketplace is hard,” said Falah. “Vendors need to believe in the vision and trust that we can deliver.”
Despite these challenges, he shared that ReMeal has received a highly positive response from early adopters, with 1,800 user sign-ups since August, 1,300 of which are verified accounts.
The app’s user-friendly interface, similar to platforms like Grab and foodpanda, makes it appealing, but instead of delivery, users pick up discounted meals directly from vendors.
“We’re not just solving a waste problem,” shared Falah. “We’re helping families afford meals during a cost-of-living crisis while supporting businesses with an additional revenue stream.”
ReMeal also addresses a demographic that thrives on deals. While eco-conscious users appreciate the app’s sustainability focus, it’s the “Deal Hunter” crowd—spanning various income levels—that forms the core customer base.
Lessons from the past
ReMeal takes inspiration from similar startups such as Grub Cycle that have paved the way but failed to sustain the momentum.
“Grub Cycle launched a similar concept back in 2016 and successfully raised a significant amount of funding. However, operations came to a halt during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the business never fully recovered,” he said.
Reflecting on Grub Cycle’s experience, Falah highlighted two key challenges: the absence of big brands, which could have drawn customers and created a FOMO-driven ripple effect, and poor timing, as food waste awareness was limited during Grub Cycle’s launch. This insight from Grub Cycle shaped ReMeal’s strategies for securing vendors early on.
In contrast, Europe, where initiatives like Too Good To Go have thrived, has strong government policies and a sustainability-driven culture. These factors set the stage for their success. Global interest in environmental issues and food inflation post-COVID are also now driving people to seek more affordable options.
“For reference, Too Good To Go waited until 2020 to enter the USA market, and Australia a few months ago, despite operating in Europe since 2015,” he noted. This highlights how timing and market readiness are essential for initiatives like these to succeed.
Standing out in the field
What sets ReMeal apart is its focus on a circular economy model, ensuring that every surplus item has a purpose.
Falah said that while other initiatives often ended up recycling or disposing of unsalvageable food, ReMeal has partnered with composting facilities and biogas plants to repurpose inedible waste, thereby creating value even from what can’t be consumed.
Additionally, it focuses on education by offering workshops and online resources to help individuals and businesses reduce waste at the source. Through technology, partnerships, and education, ReMeal aims to foster a culture of mindful consumption.
The team at ReMeal also attributes much of their success to their in-house development. “Because I built the app myself,” Falah shared, “I can quickly implement vendor-specific features or troubleshoot on the spot. Outsourcing would have made this process slower and costlier.”
ReMeal’s marketing strategy is another game-changer. Leveraging Mira Filzah’s star power (as her husband Wan Emir Astar is part of ReMeal), the team has achieved significant organic reach.
“Our reel with Celsius Coffee hit one million views,” Falah said proudly. “That’s the kind of exposure brands pay thousands for, and we offer it to our vendors as part of the partnership.”
A sustainable future
Beyond profit, ReMeal aims to drive awareness about food waste and its broader implications. The team is planning a massive Ramadan Food Waste Awareness Campaign in collaboration with like-minded organisations.
While ReMeal isn’t a magic bullet for food insecurity or waste, the startup is making meaningful strides. “We’re giving vendors a monetary incentive to adopt sustainable practices,” Falah noted.
ReMeal is set for rapid expansion with upcoming partnerships, including hotels and supermarkets. Their pre-seed funding from Quinque Global has enabled them to scale, while continuous user feedback helps refine their product.
“Ultimately, we want to make food surplus solutions mainstream in Malaysia, just as they’ve become in Europe,” Falah said.
“Our long-term goal is zero waste, rather than just zero food waste. We want to see how we can apply the same concepts to non-food sectors. For example, there should not be a problem for florists to sell
their near-to-expiry flowers on ReMeal.”
As the app grows, it holds the promise of reshaping Malaysia’s food ecosystem, proving that with the right mix of technology, strategy, and heart, even the leftovers can create something extraordinary.
- You can learn more about ReMeal here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: ReMeal