The 5 Best Apps to Save on Food in 2026

Bags usually sell for a fraction of their original value, and tend to contain considerably more food than you would expect for the price, especially at bakeries and greengrocers. The important caveat is that you don't choose what you get: you are paying for a surprise bag, so the saving is real but on products you did not pick.

It is an explicit trade: the chain learns what you buy and gives you discounts tuned to that profile. The saving is real and over a year it can add up. The cost is a fairly detailed picture of your spending in the company's hands. There is no universal answer; it is worth at least knowing that this is the deal.

There are two different labels. A best-before date signals a loss of quality, not of safety: past that date the product is usually perfectly edible. A use-by date, which fresh meat, fish and dairy carry, is a safety limit and should not be exceeded. Too Good To Go bags almost always fall into the first category.

The effective approach is to split the roles: Lidl, DIA or Carrefour coupons for the planned weekly shop, and Too Good To Go for a treat or an improvised dinner. Trying to do a full shop with surprise bags does not work, because you cannot count on specific products. Used this way, they complement each other without overlapping.