Surplus Indonesia – Greeneration Foundation

Investing in Impact

P4G has awarded the partnership with US $350,000 in grant funding. 

Indonesia is the second largest food loss and waste producer globally. It wastes about 115-184 kilograms per person per year, which totals about $39 billion in economic losses. All the food wasted could meet the nutrient needs of 61 – 125 million people a year. 

Surplus, founded by Agung Saputra, launched in 2020 with the aim of reducing food loss and waste from restaurants and local food businesses and giving people affordable food options. Local businesses can sell overstocked products or imperfect produce, all of which is still safely edible, at a 50% discount directly to consumers. Surplus has positioned itself as a market leader in Indonesia through an easy-to-use app and agreements with ride-hailing companies and food providers. 

The business has positive social, economic and environmental effects. Surplus allows people to access affordable food options; allows businesses to reach new customers, prevent financial losses and reduce food disposal costs; and avoids greenhouse gas emissions by diverting edible food from landfills. 

Surplus Indonesia has rescued more than 350 tons of food and avoided more than 500 tons of carbon emissions. It has also impacted about 400,000 direct beneficiaries, 70% of whom are women. It’s helped more than 3500 businesses prevent an estimated US $200,000 in losses. By 2025, Surplus Indonesia aims to increase its business base to 10,000 merchants and its direct consumer base to 1 million. 

The startup is currently trying to onboard more food businesses to expand the amount of food it can rescue. Between December 2024 and June 2025, Surplus acquired more than 292 brands through marketing efforts like direct outreach, networking events and business forums. Many of the merchants are bakeries and restaurants that reply on quick sales turnovers before their preservative-free products spoil. 

During this time, Surplus also made significant improvements to its app to enhance user experience and handle high user volumes. These improvements have also strengthened Surplus’s data protection and compliance with existing regulatory standards. 

Surplus also set up the first Surplus Experience store in June 2025. The store sells near-expiration date snacks and smoothies and juices made from imperfect fruits. In parallel, Surplus also launched Juicible, a mobile initiative that uses electric vehicle carts to bring affordable, upcycled fruit juices and near-expiry-date snacks to communities. Through brand building efforts, more than 18,000 snacks and juices have been purchased in just 9 months. 

Surplus has been an active participant in several policy and regulatory dialogues to improve the environment for food waste reduction and circular economy regulations. This includes participating in a GRASP 2030 Working Group on Food Redistribution to develop a national food redistribution guideline; Strategic Sector Cooperation initiatives convened by the Embassy of Denmark; and meetings with the P4G Indonesia National Platform eosystem to discuss regulatory system improvements. 

During the partnership period, Surplus Indonesia aims to raise US $350,000 in investment, rescue more than 10,000 tons of food, reach 100,000 customers, and save food businesses an estimated US $50,000. 

Surplus will work with Greeneration Foundation to develop a case study that outlines the startup’s successes and challenges, and recommendations for policy interventions that will reduce food loss and waste in Indonesia. The partnership will share its learning with the Indonesian government to contribute to improving the enabling environment for food rescue businesses and to prevent food loss and waste in Indonesia. 

The partnership comprises the following partners: Surplus Indonesia (lead business partner); Greeneration Foundation (lead administrative partner).