Brazil is among the 10 countries that waste the most food in the world, according to the UN (United Nations) ranking. There are 46 million tons of food thrown away each year, according to a survey by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)
Keeping an eye on these numbers and with the purpose of creating a sustainable business that combats food waste while still generating profit, the entrepreneurJeff Alveswith over 30 years in the technology field, created aifefo (ifefo.with.br ). A startup connects large industries with retail (from large to medium retailers) to negotiate competitive prices and offer to the end consumer
Last year, a ifefo generated R$ 280 million and, since January, the company has been recording a growth of 30% month over month. The forecast is that revenue in 2024 will be between R$ 330 million and R$ 380 million. "We see the industry's stock", offers to retail, that buys products online and receives them anywhere in the country, says Jeff Alves
Among the large companies that make up the ifefo marketplace, Kellanova, Danone, Nestle, Minalba, Unilever, Vapza, Mars, Sferriê, Unibaby, Carolina, Goldko, D'Gusto, The Bulldog Energy Drink isBimbo Group
This last, inclusive, closed a partnership with the company for distributionexclusive online from the Takis product linethat includes the globally famous hot chilli (spicy) tortillas, explosion (very spicy) and fire (extremely spicy). Success in thirty countries, the snack has already shown signs of success and has become popular with the audience that consumes this type of food
The entrepreneur reports that there are more than 10,000 items from major brands that can be purchased on the platform or on the iFefo website with discounts of up to 70%. The attractive prices obtained from partner industries by the company come from products that are close to their expiration date. However, the company has grown and today also offers products within the expiration date
It is worth noting that these expired products would be incinerated or discarded by the industry before ifefo connected the two ends. If the retailer does not agree with the amount being charged, he can still make a counterproposal that will be analyzed by our artificial intelligence. After the negotiation, he will receive the product at his address.”
Since 2019, there have been over 200,000 CNPJs registered in operations in more than 4,000 cities. “No ifefo, all products deserve a second chance…”says Jeff. More than 150 tons are redistributed weekly between advanced and initial expiration dates, included non-standard and discontinued products
The artificial intelligence of ifefo suggests product combos and personalized prices for each type of customer with 92% accuracy and a platform return rate of 96%
Next steps
Inspired by Muhammad Yunus, of 83 years, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for creating the "bank for the poor", a microcredit system responsible for lifting millions of people out of poverty, Jeff's next step is to expand the operations of ifefo and also transform it into a bank
A ifefo will become a bank that will provide services such as loans, payment of bills and other services that traditional and digital banks offer.”
Still in 2024, a ifefo plans to offer other benefits to retailers. Among them, life insurance, health plan and discount at gyms
"We are in negotiation with some segments and", soon, this will allow us to broaden our scope of action. Our expectation is that in the coming years ifefo will be the largest ecosystem of services with artificial intelligence focused on retail in Latin America, finishes Jeff
