New sharing service aims to reduce food waste and help the financially vulnerable

Pernilla Antonsson, a business student, has long been frustrated by the amount of food that is thrown away unnecessarily at a time when more and more people are struggling financially. Now she wants to contribute to a solution and has developed her idea in our pre-incubator during the fall. 

Every year, households in Sweden throw away around 15 kilograms of edible food per person. At the same time, food prices have risen and there is a large group of people who are struggling financially.

With the help of a digital sharing service, Pernilla wants to reduce food waste and help single parents, students and pensioners, for example, to have more money left in their wallets.

- I want to create a sharing service for the neighborhood. The goal is to save both money and unnecessary food waste," says Pernilla.

The business idea, which is still in its early stages, was born when Pernilla took the course Business Planning for Growth Companies at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. Through the course, she participated in the Venture Cup business idea competition and then got in touch with one of the business coaches at Science Park who recommended the pre-incubator.

- "Throughout my adult life, I have worked with people in different ways and had never heard of either an incubator or a pre-incubator. But I am so glad I chose to start. It has been very valuable," she continues. 

"The pre-incubator has been great"

The pre-incubator is a 12-week program where participants learn the basics, tools and methods of sustainable business development. Every Wednesday afternoon, the group, which in Pernilla's case has been about 10 participants, meets on site in Trollhättan to systematically work through everything from early customer experiments, business models, customer offerings to pitch decks and approaches to raising capital. In parallel, participants work with their ideas and apply the newly acquired knowledge in their own business development processes.

- The pre-incubator has been great! I have received a lot of tools that have helped to make the approach more clear. You also feel a sense of community in the group and it has been great to be able to share tips and experiences with each other. You don't feel so alone in your idea. Through the pre-incubator, I have received a very good push and challenged myself to make things happen," concludes Pernilla. 

On December 6, we started a new group in the pre-incubator. Are you curious to participate in future groups? Read more and register your interest here.