Leading hospitality groups including Hilton, Accor, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental and IKEA are now collectively saving more than $100 million a year by cutting food waste across their kitchens—enabled by AI-powered food waste tracking from Winnow.
Giving Chefs the Tools to Combat Food Waste
The milestone reflects growing momentum in the sector to address one of hospitality’s most persistent challenges. Globally, food waste represents an estimated $1 trillion in economic loss each year, with $147 billion attributed to surplus food in the U.S. foodservice sector alone (source: UNEP, ReFED). Winnow’s mission is to help the hospitality industry recover $1 billion of that loss by giving chefs the tools to take action.
Founded in the UK in 2013, Winnow equips kitchens with connected hardware and AI that tracks what food is discarded, when and why. This data helps teams adjust production, improve processes and run more efficient operations. The company’s technology is now used in thousands of kitchens across nearly 100 countries. Its latest innovation, Throw & Go, allows teams to capture food waste completely touch-free—making measurement faster and easier, particularly in high-volume kitchens.
But it’s chefs—not technology—who are leading the change.
“This milestone is a tribute to the chefs who are making food waste reduction part of their daily craft,” said Marc Zornes, CEO and co-founder of Winnow. “They are the ones designing menus, rethinking processes and leading their teams to cook more consciously. Our role is to give them the data to make that easier.”
Since 2024, Winnow has partnered with zero-waste expert Chef Vojtech Vegh to help raise awareness among chefs and inspire them to find creative ways to repurpose surplus ingredients. His work complements the broader shift in kitchen culture, where food waste prevention is increasingly seen as a creative, not just operational, opportunity.
Global operators that are embracing this shift and setting new standards for the industry include:
- Hilton, whose Green Ramadan 2025 initiative reduced plate waste by 26% across 45 hotels in 14 countries, with support from Winnow’s AI and resources developed in partnership with UNEP West Asia.
- Accor, with over 200 hotels using Winnow around the world, which are collectively saving 1 meal every 6 seconds.
- Guckenheimer, a leading U.S. foodservice provider, which announced in 2025 a 64% reduction in food waste across their sites since 2022, saving the equivalent of nearly 1 million meals annually.
- Mandarin Oriental, which reduced food waste by 36% in four pilot hotels in the first six months of installing Winnow, and are now rolling the technology out to their 40+ hotels.
The journey to $100 million saved annually is a step toward Winnow’s longer-term goal: helping the hospitality industry prevent $1 billion in food waste every year.
To mark this milestone Winnow is launching a competition—100 Recipes for $100M—to spotlight the chefs behind the change. Kitchens from around the world are invited to submit their best zero-waste recipes, celebrating creativity and innovation in reducing food waste. Winners will be selected by Chef Vojtech Vegh and announced on Stop Food Waste Day (April 29, 2026). Further details can be found here.
