Mili´s Food & Café is the one of the pilot restaurants of Mission Zero Foodprint. It has two offices in the ice rinks of Leppävaara and Tapiola sports parks in Espoo. Mili´s offers nutritious and tasty food for athletes in portions and buffet, as well as bistro-type dishes and coffee products. They also have catering services. Marica Ahlroth is the owner and CEO of the company and she works administratively in the background and sometimes interfaces with clients. She has a chef background, so the product selection and recipes is her own field. Her sales manager background helps with customer relationships, marketing in social media, print and other channels.
The one of the specialties of Restaurant Mili´s is that they have an online store where parents can buy snacks from their workplaces for their children who come to the exercises after school. Kids get snacks when they come to the restaurant. Parents can also order ready-made home-cooked meals from the online store.
Marica Ahlroth believes that through sustainable development, we create opportunities for present and future generations to live. Restaurant Mili´s strives for this within the framework of opportunities and profitable business. They strive to minimize food waste, monitor the carbon footprint of portions, focus on food and supplies purchases to minimize traffic congestion, and take care of their staff on daily basis.
In the Mission Zero Foodprint project, Mili´s has taken many different measures. As a digital solution they have tested two different systems Clonet and Hukka AI, which have enabled the restaurant to reduce the carbon footprint of portions and reduce food waste. The recipes have been changed so that vegetables have been added according to the meat and pork, chicken and beans have been added. During the pilot, Mili´s has introduced a waste cabinet as new ideas, reduced the size of bio-waste bins and changed packaging materials to more responsible ones and changed plastic whistles to paper. They have also the Unwasted – food waste service app, where companies can use the app to sell low-cost products to customers, thus helping to reduce food waste. Through Unwasted, Mili´s offers low-cost surprise bags to customers.
Mili´s also sells home cooking and party products through Wolt and Fooroda as well as its own online store. They supply athlete meals on request, a café and delicatesses are available from Mili´s outlets.
Mili´s Food & Café is worth remembering as a sustainable multi-service restaurant where parents get help with both children’s snacks and the home cooking needs of busy days, not forgetting the waste closet or cheap surprise bags offered through Unwasted app!