Peekabox allows residents to reserve fresh surplus food items from participating restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and grocery stores for same-day collection.
A UAE-born food-saving app has been launched, allowing residents to purchase fresh surplus food from restaurants, cafes, bakeries and grocery stores at discounts ranging from 50 to 70 per cent.
Peekabox, founded by Dubai-raised brothers Hasan and Omair Sarwar, enables customers to reserve “surprise boxes” from participating outlets and collect them in person during same-day pickup, typically towards the end of the trading day.
The boxes are typically priced at around Dh15 for grocery items and Dh30 for other categories, including bakeries, coffee shops, sushi outlets, prepared meal providers, and hotel buffets.
According to its press information, the platform has launched with over 1,000 stores across more than 40 brands already onboard.
The company says the food sold through the app is freshly prepared and still within its shelf life, but would otherwise be discarded if left unsold.
How it works
“All items sold on Peekabox are freshly prepared in the morning and are well within their shelf life. Yet we often see shelves full of these items being thrown away, which becomes a real commercial problem for retailers. Every item discarded is lost revenue. What we are doing is driving incremental revenue while giving consumers meaningful savings,” said Hasan Sarwar, CEO of Peekabox.
The app shows available “surprise boxes” from nearby outlets. Users reserve and pay through the app, then collect the box during a designated same-day pickup window. Since customers do not choose individual items, retailers can clear remaining stock without affecting regular full-price sales.
Partners and growth
Participating brands include Al Maya, Union Co-op, Costa Coffee, Paul, Tim Hortons, Dunkin’, Choithrams, Cinnabon, Krispy Kreme, Peet’s Coffee, Pret A Manger and Eataly, among others, with more brands being added.
Hasan Sarwar said early demand has been strong, with the app surpassing 50,000 downloads and recording 5,000 orders within two weeks of launch. It also briefly ranked No. 1 on the App Store for seven consecutive days.
Cost of living and food waste focus
Peekabox positions itself as both a cost-saving and anti-food-waste solution, noting that UAE households spend between Dh800 and Dh1,500 monthly on food. It also cites figures suggesting millions of tonnes of food are wasted annually in the UAE, costing billions, with national goals aiming to cut food waste in half by 2030.
Business model
The platform allows retailers to list surplus stock after peak hours, creating an additional revenue stream from items that would otherwise be discarded. Peekabox operates on a revenue-sharing model and says listings are structured to avoid impacting regular sales.
The company has also raised $1.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round.
