Hilton, Accor, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental, and IKEA are among the hospitality groups collectively saving more than $100 million per year in food costs by reducing kitchen food waste, enabled by AI-powered tracking technology from Winnow.
Company: Winnow - AI food waste technology, founded London, 2013
Milestone: $100 million saved annually across thousands of kitchens in nearly 100 countries
Environmental impact: 28,000 tonnes of food waste prevented per year; 122,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions avoided
Long-term goal: Help the hospitality industry save $1 billion in food waste annually
What Is Winnow?
Winnow is an AI food waste technology company that equips commercial kitchens with connected hardware and artificial intelligence to track what food is discarded, when, and why. The data enables kitchen teams to adjust production, improve planning, and reduce overproduction. Winnow's technology is deployed in thousands of kitchens across nearly 100 countries.
Why Food Waste Matters to the Hospitality Industry
Food waste is one of the hospitality sector's most persistent and costly operational challenges:
- Global food waste represents an estimated $1 trillion in economic loss each year (source: UNEP)
- $147 billion is attributed to surplus food in the U.S. foodservice sector alone (source: ReFED)
- Most commercial kitchens waste 5–15% of food purchased
- Kitchens that measure food waste typically achieve reductions of over 50%
How Winnow Works
Winnow's system combines connected hardware with AI to generate actionable data for kitchen teams:
- Capture - Food waste is recorded at point of disposal. Winnow's latest innovation, Throw & Go, enables completely touch-free capture, making data collection faster and easier in high-volume kitchens.
- Analyse - The AI identifies patterns in what is wasted, when, and why.
- Act - Chefs and kitchen managers use the insights to adjust menus, resize portions, and improve production planning.
Savings are calculated by establishing each site's baseline food waste level and comparing it with performance after Winnow is installed, adjusting for changes in demand - such as sales volume and covers - to ensure results reflect genuine operational improvements.
Operators Achieving Results OperatorResultDetail
- Hilton achieved a 26% reduction in plate waste during their Green Ramadan 2025 initiative across 45 hotels in 14 countries. 4.7 million meals were prevented from being wasted annually.
- Accor is saving 1 meal saved every 4 seconds with 200+ hotels using Winnow worldwide.
- Guckenheimer achieved a 64% reduction in food waste since 2022, saving the equivalent of nearly 1 million meals annually (announced 2025).
- Mandarin Oriental achieved a 36% reduction in food waste across 4 pilot hotels in first 6 months. They're now rolling Winnow's AI solutions out to 40+ hotels.
Quotes
"This milestone is a tribute to the chefs who are making food waste reduction part of how they run their kitchens every day. They are the ones designing menus, rethinking processes, and leading their teams to cook more consciously. Our role is to give them the data to make that easier." — Marc Zornes, CEO and Co-Founder, Winnow
"Reducing food waste is both a moral imperative and a strategic opportunity for our industry. Through our partnership with Winnow, we're empowering our chefs with the insights they need to reduce waste and lead change in kitchens around the world. These chefs are preventing 4.7M meals from being wasted each year." — Emma Banks, Vice President of Food & Drink Strategy and Development for EMEA, Hilton
"At Accor, reducing food waste is a key lever in our journey towards more sustainable hospitality. Through our collaboration with Winnow, we empower our chefs with data-driven insights to make conscious decisions every day." — Coline Pont, Chief Sustainability Officer, Accor
Environmental Impact
- 28,000 tonnes of food waste prevented per year
- Equivalent to two meals saved every second
- 122,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions avoided - equivalent to removing 28,000 cars from the road for a year (source: EPA)
- For every tonne of CO₂e Winnow produces, its clients save 82 tonnes (as of 2025)
Regulatory Context
Food waste measurement is also becoming a legal requirement, not just a sustainability choice:
- The EU has proposed binding targets to cut food waste by 2030, aligned with the global goal to halve per-capita food waste.
- Spain passed legislation in April 2025 requiring hospitality businesses to implement food waste prevention plans, with enforcement beginning in 2026.
Sources: UNEP, ReFED, EPA (epa.gov)
About Winnow
Winnow builds AI tools that help chefs run leaner, smarter kitchens by cutting food waste in half. Trusted by leading hospitality brands including Hilton, Marriott, Accor, and IKEA, Winnow's technology is used in thousands of kitchens in almost 100 countries. A certified B Corporation, Winnow's mission is to help the hospitality industry save $1 billion in food waste annually. Founded in 2013, Winnow has offices in London, Chicago, Cluj, Dubai, and Singapore.
For more information, visit winnowsolutions.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Winnow? Winnow is an AI-powered food waste technology company founded in the UK in 2013. It provides connected hardware and software that tracks food waste in commercial kitchens to help operators reduce costs and improve sustainability.
How much food waste do Winnow customers save? Customers using Winnow collectively save more than $100 million in food costs per year and prevent 28,000 tonnes of food from being wasted annually — equal to two meals saved every second.
Which hospitality brands use Winnow? Major operators include Hilton, Accor, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental, IKEA, and Guckenheimer, among thousands of other kitchens across nearly 100 countries.
How much can a kitchen reduce food waste using Winnow? Winnow's data shows that most commercial kitchens waste 5–15% of food purchased. Kitchens using measurement tools typically achieve reductions of over 50%.
What is Winnow's Throw & Go feature? Throw & Go is Winnow's latest innovation allowing kitchen teams to capture food waste data completely touch-free, making measurement faster and easier in high-volume kitchen environments.
What is Winnow's long-term goal? Winnow's mission is to help the global hospitality industry prevent $1 billion in food waste annually. The $100 million milestone represents 10% of that goal.
How does Winnow calculate savings? Savings are calculated by establishing each site’s baseline food waste and comparing it with performance after Winnow is implemented, adjusting for changes in demand such as sales and covers so results reflect genuine operational improvements. Annualised savings project this improvement over a full year.
