Ivonne Gamboa is CEO of GOAT.
Ivonne Gamboa
What is GOAT and what does it stand for?
Gamboa: Goat Generation is a mobile app that enables meal sharing among communities in a new and unique way. The term GOAT is used to define an exceptional person, experience or thing – GOAT is the greatest of all time.
The app and the model behind it were created so that anyone who wants to make a positive difference can become an active participant of a new generation of people who want to live in a better world … one shared meal at a time.
Why did you create this?
Gamboa: Each year, Canadians waste 183 kg of food per person, adding up to six million tons of food waste, making it the third largest contributor to greenhouse emissions in the world behind China and the U.S. That represents a staggering $41 billion of food wasted every year.
What sparked the idea is the fact that while some families or businesses are throwing away perfectly good food, some other families within the same community are struggling to find affordable meals. These two groups were disconnected.
What GOAT does is create a bridge between them to share food.
This idea is very close to my heart. As an immigrant to Canada, I experienced firsthand the difficulties that families arriving to Calgary experience. Food prices are one of the first cultural shocks – for me spending $10 on a sandwich was impossible considering that with $10 back in my home country, I could buy groceries for two weeks!
GOAT is a game changer in this new sharing era where we share our cars (Uber), share our homes (Airbnb). The next logical step is to share our food with GOAT generation.
How does it work?
Gamboa: GOAT members can sign up as a donor, buyer or both accessing the full benefits of the app. Food donors can easily post meals or food products in the app; this process doesn’t take more than 30 seconds.
When members sign up as food donors, we send them a startup kit with biodegradable food containers to be used for donations. Donors can choose to post food for free or with a max cap of $10. If a monetary amount is selected by the donor, funds of the transaction are directed to local charities.
What can you donate? Pantry items before they’ve expired, fruits or veggies, meal kits, cooked meals and desserts.
For buyers, the app is super easy to use as they are able to search a wide selection of food products or meal options and then choose the pickup time that best suits their needs.
The transactions are completed via the GOAT app and both donor and user will get notifications with key information to facilitate the food exchange process.
What will be the app’s reach and target audience?
Gamboa: GOAT is for anyone! For donors, our target markets are restaurants, grocery stores, families or individuals that have surplus food and want to give this food a second chance by sharing it with others.
For buyers, our target markets are individuals looking for food for free or at an affordable price point, for example university students, families looking for affordable meals, and busy families with no time to cook.
GOAT is available in Calgary and surrounding areas, with the goal to rapidly expand across Canada.
What is your vision for GOAT in the future?
Gamboa: GOAT is unique, bold and disruptive and we love to be the pioneers in this food-sharing era. GOAT wants to be positioned globally within five years with an aggressive expansion plan. We want to become the app that’s embedded into everyone’s DNA as the ‘cool’ and right thing to do every time you have a surplus of food, or you are looking for affordable food.
GOAT, as an employer, is committed to offering a unique corporate culture. We want to become the company that everyone wants to work for, not only because of our corporate values but also because as an employee you are contributing by offering a platform to our society to support others and the environment. How cool is that!
Interviewed by Mario Toneguzzi, a Troy Media business reporter based in Calgary.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
