Background

Today, over 931 million tons of food are wasted annually worldwide, while nearly 828 million people go hungry. The food service industry is a major contributor, with significant waste generated through over-ordering, inefficient procurement, inaccurate forecasting, and poorly optimized inventory practices.

Food waste is not just an economic issue, it accounts for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating the climate crisis. In the UK alone, the hospitality and food service sector wastes over 1.1 million tonnes of food each year, representing billions of pounds in lost revenue and environmental damage.

Despite digital advances, many food businesses still rely on static, historical forecasting models that fail to account for dynamic real-world factors such as weather patterns, foot traffic, social trends, and supply chain disruptions. As a result, vast quantities of food are ordered unnecessarily, expire unused, and are ultimately discarded.

Problem statement

We invite participants to develop AI-powered, real-time, scalable solutions that tackle this systemic issue of food waste.

Solutions could focus on:

• Smarter demand forecasting (using AI/ML models integrating weather, events, and historical trends)
• Dynamic procurement and inventory optimization (to minimize overstocking and spoilage)
• Real-time monitoring and predictive alerts (using IoT or smart dashboards)
• Customer behavior insights to influence more sustainable ordering and consumption

Winning solutions must demonstrate:

• High impact potential on waste reduction
• Technical feasibility and ease of integration into current operations
• Scalability across different food service environments

By addressing food waste, you will be helping to solve a critical environmental, economic, and social challenge, accelerating progress toward global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12.3) and creating a lasting positive impact.