OLIO, a free app connecting neighbours with each other and local shops to exchange surplus food, has just expanded from its launch area of Crouch End London into four more London boroughs; Haringey, Hackney, Camden and Islington.
Following an interview with the BBC in August 2015, OLIO’s sign up rate went through the roof, with thousands of people across London downloading the app. Although app was only live in Crouch End, over 6,000 people from other areas of London and beyond downloaded the app.
To meet the high demand, OLIO’s founders, Saasha Celestial-One and Tessa Cook, considered opening OLIO out across the whole of London. They had to decide whether they would open up to everyone, and risk the app being weakly populated in some areas, or whether to expand across London slowly, to ensure that all users had a great experience. They decided on the latter, opening out OLIO into the four boroughs bordering their launch area – Hackney, Haringey, Camden and Islington.
Over the next 6 months, OLIO will be focused on getting the app ready to scale to a bigger audience, while simultaneously working to build engagement across the four new boroughs.
If you’d like OLIO to launch in your area, send a message to Saasha and Tessa on hello@olioex.com to find out about how you can help.
