A Boulder-based foodtech startup is expanding its footprint to Denver.
Goodie Bag helps consumers purchase and pick up surplus food from local businesses at discounted prices. The startup, which is currently operational in Boulder and Fort Collins, plans to launch in Denver later this month.
“It was a natural synergy to move toward Denver since Boulder and Fort Collins are our first two markets,” said Eddy Connors, co-founder and CEO of Goodie Bag. “There’s a lot of overlap with some of our Boulder partners [who] also have second locations in Denver. Also a lot of our customer base has friends and family in the area in Denver and they, themselves often go [to Denver].”
Denver is also a good option for Goodie Bag to test operations in a larger market, Connors said.
Named by Colorado Inno as a Startup to Watch this year, Goodie Bag will launch in Denver with more than 25 local restaurants, grocers and other food providers. These partners include Denver Milk Market, The Cake Bar, Tony P's Pizzeria, Post Oak Barbecue, Saucy’s Southern BBQ & Cuisine, Ti Café and MOB Coffee.
These businesses take inventory at the end of the day to determine if they have any surplus food. Then, they put the surplus food in “goodie bags” and list it on the Goodie Bag’s platform for free. Customers can pick which goodies bags they want to pick up and pay a discounted rate for the food. These bags are 50% to 70% off what a customer would pay at the store or restaurant, said Luke Siegert, co-founder and chief product officer of Goodie Bag.
There’s a mystery element to the goodie bags, too. Customers don’t know 100% what they will be receiving, they just know they will receive quality, affordable food from a local business.
Goodie Bag takes a one-third revenue share from each goodie bag sold. This provides the restaurant or business partner with salvaged revenue on what would otherwise be sunk costs, Siegert said, because this surplus food would have been thrown out at the end of the day.
Goodie Bag was co-founded in 2022 by University of Colorado Boulder roommates Siegert and Connors and students and graduates Ethan Mills and Kevin Gonzales, who were keen on developing a business that felt valuable to society in a sustainable way. Mills and Gonzales are no longer with the startup.
“We’re in this unique period of the human timeline where we need to use our current vehicle that capitalism is to create the change that we want to see for ourselves, as well as for our future kids, future generations,” Connors said.
Looking for a startup idea that would make a difference, the co-founders joined a summer program hosted by Silicon Flatirons, which helps young entrepreneurs build their businesses in Boulder. During that program, they recognized a gap in food waste prevention in America.
They paired their personal experiences of working in the food industry and being broke college students with this gap to form Goodie Bag.
Today, Goodie Bag has more than 70 business partners and has raised approximately $230,000. The startup has four full-time employees and works with a development team from India-based XOR Labs.
Goodie Bag participated in Techstars’ Farm to Fork accelerator this past summer, launched a mobile app and expanded its operations to Fort Collins. In October, the startup brought on Briana Boehmer as COO, who is also passionate about tackling food waste.
With its eyes set on expansion, Goodie Bag plans to offer its services across the nation. Its waitlist for Denver services is currently open.
