Rake it in by selling mouldy bread

Waste as a business idea caught my interest in Queenstown in 2012. For some, rubbish is gold, and in the video I show an example that made me think about how a product’s value can change.

Waste as a business idea by the harbour

I passed a small unmanned stall selling old sliced bread as duck food. So it was no longer bread for people, but something visitors could buy for another purpose.

What fascinated me was the thought that a product a baker would otherwise discard was suddenly being sold in small portions. The stall thanked customers for their honesty.

It was my thinking about the model, not the stall’s accounts

I began calculating the difference between a whole bag and a couple of slices. I also imagined the baker might be happy to get rid of the old bread.

But I didn’t know the agreement with the baker or the actual costs. Those were my thoughts and rough calculations while standing by the stall.

I realised this particular idea probably wouldn’t make anyone a billionaire. What interested me was the principle: Could something others see as waste gain a new use and value? That was the business thought I took from the visit.

I realise this particular idea won’t make a huge fortune, but perhaps the idea could be used elsewhere? It’s certainly cheeky 🙂

Waste as a business idea: Sliced bread changes name and value

I’m in Queenstown in New Zealand looking at a little harbour stall. It’s one of the best business ideas I’ve seen. I don’t think it’ll make anyone a billionaire, but the thinking itself is brilliant.

What I show is sliced bread. Old sliced bread I describe in the video as a little mouldy, damp and nasty. In other words, something a baker can no longer sell as ordinary bread for people and would otherwise need to spend time disposing of.

But here, someone has changed its purpose. It isn’t called old sliced bread now. It’s called duck food. That change in use and presentation makes me open my eyes.

My calculation at the stall

I start with an ordinary bag of around 20 slices of bread, which I estimate at two New Zealand dollars. At the time, I convert that to around seven or eight Danish kroner.

At the stall, they sell two slices for one dollar. With those figures, the 20 slices in a bag can produce ten dollars in sales. So in my calculation, the value has gone from two to ten dollars after the bread became too old for its original purpose.

That’s five times the bag’s amount in the example. I’m very enthusiastic and also use some loose wording about multiplying or increasing the price tenfold. But the concrete calculation I show is two slices at a time for one dollar.

I even imagine the baker might pay to get rid of the bread. I don’t know that. I know neither the agreement with the baker, the purchase price nor the stall’s costs. It’s an idea I have while standing looking.

Nobody staffs the stall

There’s also nobody staffing the little stall. The sign says: "Thank you for your honesty." Customers have to leave the money themselves.

It fascinates me that someone has taken something otherwise unsellable, split it into small portions and offered it for another purpose. At the same time, selling doesn’t require an employee standing there all day.

I immediately start playing with the idea: A stall by a lake, old bread from the baker and customers buying small portions. I joke about charging to remove the baker’s bread and then retiring early. I know this particular little idea is unlikely to make a fortune.

Can you see something valuable in what others discard?

What matters is whether the thinking could be used elsewhere. Can you find another way to do something like this? One person’s rubbish can be another’s gold. Also read Iværksætter til jeg dør about my experiences of finding new business opportunities.

I go back and show the stall again. Around us are Queenstown’s beautiful surroundings and the mountains, where you can go bungee jumping, among other things. But what I keep returning to is the little setup by the harbour.

That’s business. Not necessarily a billion-dollar business, but an example that makes me think about how a different use can change a product’s value.

Best wishes, Martin. PS: Get three quotes for having your annual accounts prepared – click here