First-timer nerves are real. We get it. Ordering a bag called a "Surprise Bag" for the first time can feel like a small leap of faith. What if it's all food you don't eat? What if it's not enough? What if it's weird?

Here's the reassurance: while the exact contents are always a surprise, the category is not. You'll always know the store and the food category before you order. If a bakery near you lists a Surprise Bag, you know it'll be baked goods. If it's a restaurant, expect prepared meals. The surprise is in the specific items, not in the kind of food.

Bakeries

Bakeries typically include bread, pastries, cakes and savouries. A bakery bag is one of the most common and best-value bags on the platform, and slightly stale bread is secretly one of the most versatile ingredients in your kitchen, perfect for French toast, croutons, or bread pudding.

Restaurants

Restaurants include prepared meals and sides. These bags often contain complete dishes, a pasta, a curry, a soup, or a rice dish, ready to eat as-is or remix into something new the next day.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets include fresh produce, dairy, deli items and packaged goods. These bags frequently contain a mix of items approaching their best-before date, all still safe and good to eat, often forming the base of a stir-fry or a frittata.

Cafés

Cafés include sandwiches, wraps and snacks. End-of-day café surplus is predictable and popular, and these bags tend to go fast, so it pays to have notifications on for your favourite spot.

Every bag is a reflection of that store's surplus for the day, which is why no two are ever quite the same. A bakery might sell out of croissants but have plenty of rye loaves. That unpredictability is exactly what we're working with.

Dietary needs and allergies

Because the bag contents are a surprise, we recommend checking the store's listed food category before ordering. At collection, you can ask the store directly for allergen information on specific items. If you have severe allergies, always ask the store before accepting any item.

Refreshi is working on allergen filtering features in the app. Watch this space. In the meantime, a quick conversation with the store at collection is the best way to make sure every item works for you and your household.