Norway’s leading retailer of surplus food items
Holdbart at a glance & key developments in 2025
Holdbart is Norway’s leading retailer of surplus food, rescuing excess products that suppliers cannot sell through conventional channels. Products that are discontinued, overstocked, nearing expiry, or have old or faulty labels are sold in Holdbart’s stores and online at up to 90% discounts.
In 2025, Holdbart grew revenue by 36%, driven by three new store openings, two of which opened in H2, with full impact expected in 2026. The company expanded its network to 23 stores across Norway and continues to build a pipeline of new locations, supporting further growth and increased food waste reduction
- Year acquired
- 2021
- Revenue
- EUR 98m
- Location
- Norway
- Employees
- 433
- Website
- https://www.holdbart.no/
- Investment theme
- Sustainable Food
- Contact
- hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com
- SDG alignment
1,2,12
What are the challenges Holdbart addresses
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407k
tonnes of food wasted in Norway in 2024
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1.2m
tonnes of CO2e emissions from food waste in Norway in 2021
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Who is impacted?
Producers, importers, wholesalers, consumers and society at large are impacted by Holdbart’s surplus food retail model. Businesses gain a channel for food that would otherwise be wasted, while consumers across Norway access affordable groceries, reducing food waste, lowering unnecessary resource use, reducing food waste and the environmental footprint that comes with it.
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Contribution
Holdbart contributes to Summa’s theory of change by reducing food waste at scale through physical stores and digital channels that redistribute surplus food. By extending the use of edible products, the model lowers waste, reduces unnecessary food production, and improves access to affordable groceries, supporting a more efficient and inclusive food system.
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Risks to impact
Key risks to impact include dependence on supplier surplus volumes and handling practices beyond Holdbart’s control, limited influence over consumer use and end-of-life disposal of products, changes in demand or regulation affecting surplus availability, and rebound effects where surplus redistribution does not reduce upstream food overproduction.