Whywaste
Whywaste is a SaaS foodtech company that provides expiration-date management and food-waste reduction software to enterprise supermarket and wholesale chains, combining predictive production planning and AI-driven dynamic pricing across 350+ retail networks in 35 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersRio De Janeiro, Brazil
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Whywaste does
Whywaste is a SaaS foodtech company that builds digital tools for grocery retailers to monitor product expiration, optimize fresh-food production, and reduce waste. Its core product, Semafor, applies a traffic-light alerting system across store inventory to flag items approaching expiry and trigger corrective actions such as relabeling or removal. Schema extends the platform into in-store bakeries and fresh-food production, using predictive analytics to recommend daily production volumes by SKU. A Dynamic Pricing (Precificação Dinâmica) module generates AI-driven, per-SKU discounts for near-expiry items, surfaced either through Pricer Electronic Shelf Labels or discount-label printers, while add-on modules cover delicatessen counter compliance, digital promotions, and real-time KPI reporting.
The company commercializes through direct enterprise sales to supermarket and wholesale chains, offering SaaS subscriptions, complementary hardware (ESLs, printers), and integration services. Its customer base spans 350+ retail networks and is reported to operate in 50,000+ stores across 35 countries, with named enterprise logos including Coop Sweden, Makro Atacadista, ICA Kvantum, Dia Brasil, Local Americanas, Supermercado Serra Azul, and Oxxo. The headquarters is in São Paulo, Brazil, with historical roots in Stockholm, Sweden.
In July 2024, Whywaste merged with Upshop via parent Invafresh, forming a unified enterprise food-retail platform serving 400+ retailers. The combined entity is backed by Level Equity and is positioned around food availability, accessibility, and waste reduction, while Whywaste continues to operate the Semafor/Schema product family and a separate Brazilian entity, Whywaste Brasil.
Whywaste firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Whywaste
- Legal name
- Whywaste Brasil
- Website
- https://whywaste.com.br
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Whywaste is a SaaS foodtech company that provides expiration-date management and food-waste reduction software to enterprise supermarket and wholesale chains, combining predictive production planning and AI-driven dynamic pricing across 350+ retail networks in 35 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Whywaste industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Food waste management software / Retail food loss prevention SaaS
- NAICS
- Food and Beverage Retailers (445), Baked Goods Retailers (445291)
- SIC
- Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fresh Food Retail Counters (In-Store Butcher/Fish/Produce Counters) (CRAHAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) & Shelf-Edge Hardware (HDACAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Whywaste is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rio De Janeiro
- HQ country
- Brazil
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Whywaste business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription: Recurring subscription fees for access to the Whywaste platform including Semafor, Schema, and analytics modules. Pricing likely based on number of stores or SKUs managed.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of complementary hardware including ESL (Electronic Shelf Labels) compatible with Pricer, portable label printers for discount stickers, and refrigerated counter management equipment.
- Integration Services: Implementation and integration services for connecting Whywaste software with retailer's existing systems including printers, ESL infrastructure, and store management systems.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Trial Available |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise/Chain License |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Whywaste product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Whywaste sells a SaaS platform that helps supermarkets and food retail chains monitor product expiration dates, optimize in-store bakery production, run dynamic discount pricing on near-expiry items, manage delicatessen cold counter compliance, and surface near-expiry promotions on in-store screens. Hardware such as Pricer-compatible Electronic Shelf Labels and discount label printers is sold alongside the subscription, with integration services to connect the software to retailer systems.
Product overview
Whywaste is a food waste reduction technology platform composed of multiple integrated products: Semafor (core expiry date management and repricing system), Schema (predictive production planning for bakeries), Dynamic Pricing (AI-driven personalized discounting), Deli Counter Management (cold product compliance), and Promotions/Digital Display modules for in-store near-expiry sales. Hardware integrations include discount label printers and Pricer Electronic Shelf Labels. Following a July 2024 merger with Upshop, the platform now operates under the combined Invafresh/Whywaste entity serving 400+ retailers across 35 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Semafor: World-leading expiration date management system that monitors product shelf life and provides real-time alerts for items approaching expiration
- Schema
- Dynamic Pricing
Products and services
- Semafor The world's leading expiration date management system that monitors product shelf life, sends proactive traffic-light alerts for items approaching expiry, and enables rapid removal or repricing actions. Designed for supermarket and food retail chains.
- Schema Production planning tool for bakeries and fresh food producers that uses predictive analytics to suggest daily production quantities for each product. Aimed at in-store bakery operations.
- Dynamic Pricing (Precificação Dinâmica) AI-powered dynamic discount engine that generates personalized discount pricing for each near-expiry product based on each product's unique historical sales data, delivered via ESL or discount label printer.
- Real-Time Reports Real-time dashboard and remote reporting on expiry management KPIs including repricing rates, stock-out reasons, disposal totals, and donation reports across stores.
- Electronic Shelf Labels (Pricer ESL integration) Hardware sold alongside the Whywaste software that provides fully dynamic real-time repricing of near-expiry products directly on store shelves via 100% Pricer ESL integration.
- Digital Display Module for Near-Expiry Promotions Module that integrates with in-store digital screens to automatically display promotions for products approaching their expiry date and publish total waste-avoided metrics to customers. Launched at ICA Kvantum.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 75% reduction in losses from product expiration
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Whywaste
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Whywaste technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Whywaste partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- UpshopflagshipUpshop and Invafresh announced their merger on July 9, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the food retail technology industry. The united entity aims to address key sector challenges: availability, accessibility, and waste. The combined platform serves over 400 retailers in 35 countries, operating in more than 50,000 stores and affecting millions of associates and buyers daily. Financial advisors Robert W. Baird & Co. and Davis Polk advised Invafresh.
- GS1coreInvafresh/Whywaste became a Silver Partner of GS1's Solutions Partner Program. This designation represents commitment to providing services that enable rapid, efficient, and precise implementation of GS1 standards. The partnership ensures compliance with new traceability regulations as countries require better product traceability throughout the supply chain.
- Pricer Electronic Shelf LabelscoreWhywaste solutions are 100% integrated with Pricer Electronic Shelf Labels. This integration enables dynamic pricing and automated discount displays for near-expiration products.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Whywaste competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- RELEX Solutions: RELEX provides unified retail planning (demand, supply, fresh, markdown optimization) and competes broadly with Whywaste's Schema and Dynamic Pricing modules as part of a wider grocery technology portfolio.
- Blue Yonder (formerly JDA): Blue Yonder is a large incumbent supply chain and retail planning vendor whose category-management, demand, and pricing capabilities overlap with Whywaste's fresh and expiration workflows as part of a much broader platform.
Others
- Pricer AB: Pricer is the ESL hardware vendor with which Whywaste is 100% integrated; not a direct competitor but the most strategic technology partner enabling Whywaste's shelf-edge dynamic pricing.
Emerging players
- Spoiler Alert: Spoiler Alert (now part of Afresh) operated a B2B SaaS platform for perishables inventory, markdown optimization, and food donations, addressing the same manual-discounting and donation workflows that Semafor and Whywaste's donation module automate.
Direct peers
- Afresh Technologies: Afresh provides AI-powered fresh-item ordering and forecasting for grocery retailers, overlapping directly with Whywaste's Schema production planning and shelf-edge demand-sensing capabilities.
- Leanpath: Leanpath offers food waste tracking and prevention analytics for retail and foodservice operators, addressing the same shrink-reduction outcome Whywaste quantifies via its real-time reporting module.
- Invafresh: Invafresh is a fresh-item merchandising, demand forecasting, and food waste platform serving grocery retailers; it merged with Whywaste (and then Upshop) in 2024, so commercially the two now operate as one combined go-to-market while remaining comparable in capability.
- Wasteless: Wasteless builds AI-driven dynamic-pricing engines for grocery products approaching expiration, the exact same workflow Whywaste's Precificação Dinâmica module addresses. It is the closest head-to-head competitor in expiration-date discount automation for supermarkets.
- Winnow Solutions: Winnow builds AI-driven food waste measurement and analytics platforms for commercial kitchens and food retail, analogous to Whywaste's predictive monitoring and KPI dashboards for expiration management.
- Shelf Engine: Shelf Engine applies predictive analytics to automate fresh-food ordering and reduce out-of-stocks and shrink for grocery, comparable to Whywaste's Schema forecasting engine for bakery and fresh production.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Whywaste social profiles
Digital presenceWhywaste compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Whywaste financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Whywaste leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Whywaste funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Whywaste M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Whywaste
What does Whywaste do?
Whywaste sells a SaaS platform that helps supermarkets and food retail chains monitor product expiration dates, optimize in-store bakery production, run dynamic discount pricing on near-expiry items, manage delicatessen cold counter compliance, and surface near-expiry promotions on in-store screens. Hardware such as Pricer-compatible Electronic Shelf Labels and discount label printers is sold alongside the subscription, with integration services to connect the software to retailer systems.
Is Whywaste a public or private company?
Whywaste is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Whywaste founded?
Whywaste was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Whywaste based?
Whywaste is headquartered in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in the Latin America region.
How does Whywaste make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription is the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales and integration Services.
Who are Whywaste's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are RELEX Solutions and Blue Yonder (formerly JDA). Pricer AB is listed as an others. Spoiler Alert is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Afresh Technologies, Leanpath, Invafresh, Wasteless, Winnow Solutions and Shelf Engine.
Does Whywaste have an API?
No public API is recorded for Whywaste.
What industry is Whywaste in?
Whywaste's product category is Food waste management software / Retail food loss prevention SaaS. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAHAHAH, Fresh Food Retail Counters (In-Store Butcher/Fish/Produce Counters), with a secondary code of HDACAKAJ, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) & Shelf-Edge Hardware. Its NAICS code is 445 and its SIC code is 5734.