Crowdfunding food waste related campaigns: The role of waste hierarchy classification and target market

This exploratory research investigates the success factors of food waste-related products and services in crowdfunding campaigns by focusing on two key aspects: the type of solution suggested in terms of waste management hierarchy classification (prevention versus reuse/recycle) and the target market (niche versus mass market). Specifically, 122 food waste-related campaigns launched on Kickstarter from 2009 to 2019 have been analyzed. Results show that 1) campaigns offering food waste prevention solutions are more successful than those offering other solutions and 2) campaigns offering mass market products/services are more successful than those targeting niche markets. Based on these findings, this paper contributes to the current crowdfunding literature, especially the stream focused on the sustainability, by addressing a neglected topic, namely the food waste, and offering valuable insights for projects’ proponents and other stakeholders (e.g. platform managers and authorities). Additionally, this research provides contributions to theory, in particular on the key role of the wisdom of crowd in crowdfunding campaigns’ contexts.