The client:

Everybody Eats is a chain of charity kitchens in New Zealand. Their mission is to 'Feed bellies. Not bins.' in all aspects of their business.

The global issue:

This year, 1 billion tonnes of good food will go to waste. Yet 2 billion people go hungry every day.

The situation in New Zealand.

In NZ, 157,000 tonnes of good food will be wasted this year. Yet 1/5 Kiwis can’t afford a proper meal.

Everybody Eats aims to address this tragic irony.

The brief:

Convince more fortunate Kiwis - those blessed with plenty - to donate to Everybody Eats so they can continue to feed Kiwis in need.

The opportunity:

Even when dining in the nicest of restaurants, just 5% of Kiwis are brave enough to ask to take their leftovers home*. This was our way in. To address two problems. More on that coming up.

Kiwis are an interesting bunch. We never like to cause a fuss, be seen to be difficult or, in this case, look cheap (especially in restaurants and bars). For this reason, asking for our leftover food when dining out is just not something Kiwis have typically done.

So much so, that a 2020 study by 'Love Food Hate Waste' showed that "95% of Kiwis want to take home their leftovers from a restaurant, but only 5% are brave enough to ask."

All the while, 1/5 Kiwis have nothing to eat.

Everybody Eats, fights daily to end this tragic irony.

This project, the Goodie Box, is the next evolution of that mission - which right now, is not only feeding hundreds of Kiwis every day as a direct result, but addressing a long entrenched behaviour of food waste in restaurants - saving tonnes of waste going to Kiwi landfills each year.

A takeaway box that’s not just for you.

In a moment of excess, when their privilege is most obvious and they're therefore most predisposed to generosity, this takeaway box lets diners with too much food, make a donation to those with nothing.

Just scan to give and a hungry Kiwi enjoys a fresh meal at an Everybody Eats kitchen.

Which means, Kiwi diners can feel good about taking their leftovers home - something Kiwis have wanted, but haven't had the confidence to do, until now.

Which helps to solve the food waste problem.

We called it the Goodie Box.

A humble takeaway box helping to solving food poverty, which is helping to solve food waste, by making you feel good.

Target: High-income, privileged Kiwis; with the means to enjoy dinners out across NZ's top restaurants. Kiwis who have declined to take their leftovers home, until now, for fear of judgement.

We used this unique social behaviour to our advantage. Giving diners what they wanted - confidence to ask for their leftover food (often worth a lot of money) - by making them look and feel good. And in doing so, helped to solve both food poverty and waste problems - at the same time.

But how do you infiltrate hundreds of restaurants across the country?

The takeaway box itself.

This became our universal media channel, response mechanism, and turned what was a symbol of cheapness, into a symbol of good, in the most salient of moments. One that no traditional channel could ever hope to infiltrate.

Execution:

The box itself, being the primary media channel, intercepts diners in over 70 (at time of writing) of NZ's best restaurants - delivered to table by waitstaff, or on request.

Today, as the initiative progresses, more restaurants are signing up every week.

To donate, diners simply scan the QR-code and pay instantly with either Apple Pay, Google Pay or credit card.

Ongoing cost to Everybody Eats? Nothing. Restaurants buy the empty (biodegradable) boxes from the supplier, diners make the donations. A new, 100% sustainable revenue stream, from what was destined for landfill.

To launch, the boxes were supported with a nationwide campaign:

• PR (TV/Radio/Press/Editorial) - launched the idea and began a conversation about the need to change our thinking around leftovers.

• OOH, Digital, Social/Influencer - remind diners and their friends, on the way to dinner, what taking a Goodie Box home means, helping break down the stigma.

Results:

• Over 60,000 meals have been taken home to feed hungry bellies, within the first 6 months in market.

• In 70+ affiliated restaurants (at time of writing) across New Zealand, with more restaurants joining every week.

• 90% of diners in affiliated restaurants now take their leftovers (compared to just 5% previously).

• Saving tonnes of landfill every year.

• Helping feed hundreds of Kiwis every day at Everybody Eats kitchens.

• Thanks to the ongoing revenue stream being generated from the Goodie Boxes, Everybody Eats will be opening a new venue in late 2022.