Tessa Clarke, co-founder of the Olio app, shared insights into the lengthy process of securing partnerships with large corporations during a fireside chat at the SCALE Summit in London. She revealed it took three and a half years to finalise a deal with Tesco, six years for another major retailer, and an eight-year pilot stage is still ongoing with a third.
Clarke explained that Olio charges businesses for its service, providing an alternative to paying waste contractors. The app connects neighbours to give away spare food and household items, with unsold food collected from various businesses and listed for local collection.
Initially, Clarke was dismissed by a Tesco representative ten years ago when Olio had around 10,000 users. She then focused on building case studies with smaller businesses like corner shops before approaching larger corporate partners such as Planet Organic and Pret A Manger. Olio now typically charges for pilots, having found that free pilots did not provide sufficient incentive for clients.