Major hospitality groups including Hilton, Accor, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental and IKEA are saving more than $100 million per year by AI-powered tracking technology from Winnow to reduce food waste. The milestone reflects growing momentum in the hospitality sector to address the issue, which represents an estimated $1 trillion in economic loss globally each year, with $147 billion attributed to surplus food in the U.S. foodservice sector alone, according to UNEP and ReFED.
Winnow equips kitchens with connected hardware and AI that tracks what food is discarded, when, and why. The 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.
“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 raise awareness among chefs and inspire creative ways to repurpose surplus ingredients. The work complements a broader shift in kitchen culture where food waste prevention is increasingly viewed as a creative opportunity rather than purely an operational concern.
Major operator results and implementation
The AI-powered tracking system identifies patterns in food waste by capturing what items are discarded, the quantity, and the reasons for disposal. This information enables kitchen managers to adjust purchasing decisions, modify portion sizes, redesign menu offerings, and improve food storage and preparation processes.
Several global hospitality operators have achieved significant results through Winnow implementation. Hilton’s 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 has over 200 hotels using Winnow worldwide, which are collectively saving one meal every six seconds. “At Accor, reducing food waste is a key lever in our journey towards more sustainable hospitality,” said Coline Pont, Chief Sustainability Officer at Accor. “Through our collaboration with Winnow, we empower our chefs with data-driven insights to make conscious decisions every day.”
Guckenheimer, a leading U.S. foodservice provider, announced in 2025 a 64% reduction in food waste across its sites since 2022, saving the equivalent of nearly one million meals annually. Mandarin Oriental reduced food waste by 36% in four pilot hotels in the first six months of installing Winnow and is now rolling the technology out to more than 40 hotels.
Emma Banks, Hilton’s Vice President of Food & Drink Strategy and Development for EMEA, stated: “Reducing food waste is both a moral imperative and a strategic opportunity for our industry. Through our partnership with Winnow, we’re empowering our chefs with the insights they need to reduce waste and lead change in kitchens around the world. These chefs are preventing 4.7 million meals from being wasted each year.”
Environmental impact and regulatory context
Kitchens using Winnow are preventing the waste of 28,000 tonnes of food per year — equal to two meals saved every second. This equates to more than 122,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions avoided, or the equivalent of taking 28,000 cars off the road for a year, according to EPA data.
As food prices rise and regulations evolve, food waste is no longer viewed as inevitable in commercial kitchens. The European Union has proposed binding targets to cut food waste by 2030, aligned with the global goal to halve per-capita waste. In Spain, new legislation passed in April 2025 requires hospitality businesses to implement food waste prevention plans, with enforcement beginning in 2026.
Measurement is becoming a baseline for compliance as well as a proven route to cost savings. Winnow’s data shows that while most commercial kitchens waste 5-15% of food purchased, reductions resulting from measurement typically exceed 50%.
