Michal Garvey Founder of Foodprint - New Zealand’s award winning food rescue app, how it helps cafes and retailers cut food waste in NZ, turn surplus food into revenue, and win new customers.
What Michal explains
◽️ The exact app launch strategy that got Foodprint 1000 users by 3pm on day one and 10,000 users in 21 days
◽️ What objections Michal gets from cafes and eateries and how she deals with them
◽️ The time when Michal had to shut down the business (and how she pivoted)
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Timestamps
00:00 Intro
Food waste NZ & why surplus food becomes profit
01:56 Why Michal launched Foodprint App. The Climate impact of food waste, methane, and emissions
06:17 What made Michal think she can start the App. Founder origin story: sales background and startup timing
09:12 What is Foodprint
11:40 How much do we waste food in New Zealand
14:56 Work‑from‑home effect: broken forecasting & inconsistent foot traffic
16:10 Vendor growth: 600+ eateries and how the App is expanding into food retail
17:15 Supermarkets vs. food rescue orgs; where Foodprint fits
19:10 How did Michal get her first 100 venues and what did she do to start
21:00 What was challenging in the early days
22:41 How did Michal drive early success
23:51 AD
24:39 How did Michal come up with the money to build the App
25:20 What was Michal thinking as an early stage entrepreneur and how she made decisions and strategies to win
30:25 What objections Michal gets from cafes and eateries and how she deals with them
37:35 How Michal drives profitability for the App, for vendors and users
39:20 The exact app launch strategy that got Foodprint 1000 users by 3pm on day one and 10,000 users in 21 days
42:17 Advice on successfully launching an app from scratch
45:10 The time when Michal had to shut down the business (and how she pivoted)
50:12 Next 18 months: what Michal investing in and doing to win
52:32 If Michal starts again
53:25 The biggest mistake lessons Michal made in business and how would she do things differently
Follow Michal
https://www.foodprint.org.nz/
Follow me:
linkin.bio/minaamso
Watch the episode on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast
Listen on:
Apple podcast: https://shorturl.at/UkJ8v
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/fjv2nhcw
Episode Partners:
Hibiscus Jet Ski Hire: 🔥 WIN Fee Jet Ski Rides 🔥
Enter 👉🏻 https://tinyurl.com/y64efe7a
Podcast Guest
Download Your Free Podcast Guide 👉🏻 www.podcastguest.co.nz
ABOUT THE EPISODE
Michal Garvey, founder of Foodprint (NZ), breaks down the real economics of surplus food and climate impact, from solving the two‑sided marketplace cold start to onboarding 600+ eateries nationwide. We get tactical on pricing surplus inventory, consumer adoption (170,000+ users), brand objections, and what actually drives repeat purchase in New Zealand’s hospitality market.