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In 2022,
Orbisk's cameras are now in 400 to 500 locations around the world.
Food waste is still a big problem, but Orbisk founder
What exactly does Orbisk do?
Orbisk places smart cameras above waste containers at hospitality organizations. It is linked to a scale and automatically records all food discarded down to the ingredient level. This allows professional kitchens to know exactly what, how much and how often food is thrown away. With this insight, they can take targeted action to combat food waste.
Data
In essence, Orbisk's product has not changed in recent years. "Basically, the camera and scale still work the same as when we launched it. That said, there have been tremendous technological advances. We benefit from that. We also have a lot more data at our disposal. In 2022 we had roughly sixty to seventy monitors in catering establishments. Now there are six hundred. The database is growing rapidly and learning from all the data it has at its disposal. Our product is getting smarter all the time. We are also making strides in ease of use. I firmly believe in human laziness. That means we keep making our product faster and more user-friendly."
Worldwide
By now, Orbisk's cameras are in four hundred to five hundred locations around the world. "By now we are in 32 countries,"
Hotel chains and cruise ships
Customers include international hotel chains. "In those places, an awful lot of food is prepared and, unfortunately, also thrown away. That's where we can make a huge difference. We recently started a partnership with all the hotels that fall under the
Orbisk's technology can also be found on cruise ships. "Only the cameras, because at sea the scales don't work. So we are looking for ways to measure more precisely with just a camera and help customers better. We put a lot of time into that. Cruise ships may be a niche, but they are a big niche. There are sometimes as many as 25 restaurants on the huge ships. It comes as no surprise that a lot of food is quickly lost then."
Price, sustainable appearance and legislation
Business-wise, Orbisk is doing well. According to the founder, there are three drivers for joining forces with the Dutch scale-up. "First of all, the price. Inflation has also hit food. Purchase prices are higher. That means more margin goes into the trash when food is thrown away. Catering companies can no longer afford that. Another reason is sustainable appearance. Not only do guests increasingly value this, so do staff members. Gen Z is now entering the job market. They have quite high expectations of their employers and would rather not work for a company that does nothing to reduce CO2 emissions and food waste. Finally, legislation is coming up everywhere. Large companies will be forced to state what they emit and what actions they take as a result. In
The hospitality industry waste-free
What is the dot on the horizon for Orbisk founder
To achieve that, collaboration is essential, he says. "Right now, the problem is that there are separate systems for purchasing, for reservations, but also for our solution. These do not yet work together. I'm not going to build a whole POS system myself as well, so the solutions of various parties have to start communicating with each other. Technically that is quite possible. The difficulty lies in practice, but it is certainly possible. If we all crack that nut, we can really make strides."
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