Norway’s leading retailer of surplus food items

Holdbart at a glance

Holdbart is Norway's leading retailer of surplus food items, saving excess products which suppliers are unable to sell to conventional grocery chains and retail outlets. Products that are discontinued, overstocked, nearing their expiry date, or have old or faulty labels can be sold in Holdbart's physical stores or on their website, offered at up to 90% discount compared to their original prices.

Year acquired

2020

Sector

Food Retail, Food Surplus

Revenue

EUR 48 m

Location

Norway

Employees

102

Investment themes

Resource Efficiency

Key developments in 2022

During 2022, Holdbart opened two new stores in Norway and had total store sales growth of 12%. Holdbart continued to strengthen its organization and internal processes, especially through revamped marketing strategy and initiatives within store operations. Inflationary pressures and changing grocery shopping habits contributed positively to like-for-like sales growth, demonstrating the company’s resilient business model. Furthermore, Holdbart acquired its largest supplier, and continued to grow its pipeline of new store locations.

The challenges we face

Food waste is a significant and growing global issue. In Norway alone we wasted 400 000 tons of food in 2020, representing 1.3m tons of CO2e. Globally, food waste represents 8-10% of global GHG emissions.

0tons

of food wasted in Norway in 2020.

0m

of CO2e emissions from food waste in Norway in 2021.

How does Holdbart help?

Reality today

Our food value chain is inefficient, with unnecessary waste from surplus food products due to overproduction, seasonal products, campaigns, and faulty items.

Holdbart approach

Holdbart purchases surplus food items and through its physical retail stores ensures access to affordable food items that would otherwise go to waste.

Aspirational future

A less wasteful, more circular food system that supports access to affordable food.

Who is impacted?

Producers, importers, and wholesalers gain a practical distribution channel for food which otherwise would have been wasted. Consumers across regions in Norway, including lower-income individuals and families, get a more affordable and sustainable shopping basket.

What are the impact considerations?

Additionality

Without Holdbart, a significant amount of food and retail products that could have been sold to consumers would go to waste.

Risks

Holdbart has limited control over the supply of surplus products, which could undermine its ability to consistently stock affordable, sustainable products.

SDG 1
SDG 2
SDG 12

KPI reporting

Revenue (EURm)

2022:
+0%
46
2021:
31
2020:
30

Tons of food saved

2022:
+0%
11.3k
2021:
7.1k
2020:
6.3k

Tons CO2e averted from food saved

2022:
+0%
30 487
2021:
19 084
2020:
16 954

Number of shopping carts

2022:
+0%
1.8m
2021:
1.5m
2020:
1.5m