Flashfood App Review: My Mystery Shopper Experience

Everyday, grocery superstores and retailers alike throw away perfectly good food nearing shelf expiration dates that go unsold. It’s a wasteful practice that places millions of pounds of food in landfills, instead of dinner tables for families to enjoy. 

The Flashfood app aims to change that. In this Flashfood app review, I’ll share with you my personal experience using the app, including the types of discounted grocery items you should expect to see. 

What is Flashfood

Flashfood is a Canadian-made app that connects people with high quality grocery foods nearing its ‘best before’ date at a discounted rate. Savings can be as high as 50% or more on regular priced food, which is a significant help during these inflationary times. 

Since 2016, Flashfood has helped divert over 40 million pounds of food away from landfills and into the hands of budget-conscious consumers. Currently, there are over 20k Flashfood reviews in the app store, with an average app rating of 4.8.

Flashfood App Locations

You can find Flashfood at grocery stores across Canada and the United States. Some, not all of the locations are featured in the chart below. For a complete list and to check for a location near you, check out the Flashfood locator.

Roxbury, MA	Providence, RI	Pawtucket, RI
Worcester, MA	New Paltz, NY	Brooklyn, NY
Grafton, MA	Rhinebeck, NY	Maspeth, NY
Glendale, NY	Bronx, NY	Langhorne, PA
Yardley, PA	Morrisville, PA	Levittown, PA
Big Rapids, MI	Fremont, MI	Waukesha, WI
Mchenry, IL	Madison, WI	Omaha, NE
Blair, NE	Bellevue, NE	Cleveland, OH

Flashfood Partnered Stores

Flashfood partnered grocery stores include superstores such as:

In my home state of Massachusetts, Stop & Shop is currently the only Flashfood partnered store. 

In 2021 after a successful program launch in Worcester, MA, Flashfood expanded to more locations in Massachusetts, including the Roxbury Stop & Shop. The Roxbury store is where I made my first purchase on the Flashfood app. I’ve since placed Flashfood orders at other Shop and Shop locations in and around Boston.

How Do I Sign Up for Flashfood

The Flashfood app is free to use on both iOS and android mobile phones. 

When creating a new account, simply follow these next steps:

• Download the app in the Apple App store or Google Play store

• Choose from four sign-in options including: Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Google, Sign in with Facebook, or Sign in with Email

• Accept the Flashfood Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

• Enter Referral Code: PILA432ZF to earn an $5 credit towards your first Flashfood order of $10 or more.

Once you’ve registered your account, you can start shopping at a Flashfood location near you.

How to Enter a Flashfood Referral Code

You can enter a Flashfood referral code either during the sign up process or before you make your first Flashfood purchase.

If you forget to include a referral code at sign up, then open the Flashfood app and go to:

Profile icon on upper left hand corner > Rewards > Redeem a Code

Referral Code for $5 Credit : PILA432ZF

Once you enter a referral code, you can use your $5 credit immediately towards your first purchase. In my first Flashfood order, my grocery total came out to $29.97. When the $8 referral credit was applied, I only paid $21.97. (Flashfood was offering a limited-time $8 credit when I first joined. They’ve since lowered it to a $5 credit.)

That was one thing I found appealing about the Flashfood referral code promotion. You don’t have to wait until your next order to use your $5 credit like some other programs make you do. It applies instantly to your first order when you spend $10 or more. 

Flashfood App Review

This Flashfood app review has a twist to it. It’s a twist that allowed me to not only get all the grocery items mentioned here for free, but also get paid $35 for taking the items from the store.

How did this happen?

Well, I discovered Flashfood through a mystery shopper gig offered on the Field Agent app. It’s a free app I started using during the pandemic to get myself out of the house, and it’s one I continue to use til this day.

I don’t know if I would have discovered Flashfood Boston otherwise. So I’m grateful for the opportunity that Field Agent has given to me to learn about Flashfood and share my unbiased opinion with you. 

Further below, you’ll learn more about how Flashfood works, as well as hear about the feedback I sent to them through the Field Agent app.

My FlashFood Mystery Shopper Gig Details

I was fortunate enough to nab 2x Flashfood mystery shopper gigs on Field Agent, 3 days apart from one another. Oftentimes, Field Agent will issue a follow-up gig to track changes from the last one.

Both gigs offered the same work details, but differed in the bounty pay (the bounty is how much you’ll get paid to complete the gig!).

Here are the details for the Flashfood Mystery Shopper gigs:

Gig 1: Got paid a $20 bounty, plus received a $20 reimbursement for my grocery purchase.

Gig 2: Got paid a $15 bounty, plus received a $20 reimbursement for my grocery purchase.

After I applied my Flashfood $8 referral code, I was essentially able to walk away with $48 worth of free food plus $35 in cash for completing the gigs.

How to Use Flashfood app

The Flashfood app is a digital marketplace for discounted grocery items nearing shelf expiry dates.

How It Works:

• Open the app and browse grocery store deals of up to 50% off regular price at a Flashfood location near you

• Choose your discounted food items

• Complete your purchase by paying within the app using any major credit card, VISA, or debit card

• Pick up your groceries at the selected store with customer service

The Flashfood app is straight forward and easy to use. My first order only took a couple of minutes to place. Once you make a purchase, you can head to the store to pick it up.

What Foods are Available on Flashfood

On the app you should expect to see discounted foods including: fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, bread, dairy products, canned foods, and in my case, Ball aluminum disposable cups. 

Since Flashfood is new in my area, I found there to be a very limited selection of foods available. 

At the time of placing my first order, the only meat product available were 4 pack Schweid & Sons Prime Burger beef chuck patties. And even though the beef patties were discounted at 30% off regular price, they were still a much pricier option than what I would normally purchase. So the discount didn’t feel like much of a savings to me.

I purchased 3 packs of the burger patties, which took up all my mystery shopper reimbursement money, as well as my $8 referral bonus credit. 

(p.s.  – When I picked up my order, the beef patties had an even lower ticketed price on them than I had paid on the app ($9.99). They were marked at $8.70 per package. I didn’t have to ask for a partial refund. The manager automatically gave that to me without having to ask.)

Flashfood at Stop and Shop

Once at Stop and Shop, or any Flashfood store, you’ll see blue cabinet looking storage units with all Flashfood items inside. One will be a refrigerated unit where you’ll find your meats and dairy products, and the other will be a dry foods unit. 

These Flashfood zones are located at the front of the store, and are easy to spot.

According to Flashfood, you should head over to the Flashfood zone and pick out your order. Then take it to customer service to confirm the pick up.

I did this during my first order expecting to find everything in a bag or box with my order number on it, but that wasn’t the case. So don’t expect that.

Instead, you want to pick out your items one by one from the units, place them in a bag, and confirm pick up with customer service.

In my case, some of my items were not in the units, so a manager was called to assist me. She picked out my items from the units and from around the store, and handed me my completed pick up order.

Again, I do believe this is simply because the program is so new in my area that the managers and employees are still getting used to these orders.

This completed my first order with Flashfood. Everything I detailed here, I sent over to Field Agent to complete the mystery shopper gig.

My Second Flashfood Order

Compared to my first order, my second order three days later went much smoother now that I understood how Flashfood works.

There was also a better selection of items, but still lacked a good assortment of products in my opinion. As was the case the first time, my items weren’t all in the units. So a manager had to be called to help me.

This time, my order totaled $20.54, which was a savings of $15.60 before taxes according to Flashfood.

I didn’t purchase meat since we are well stocked in our freezer. Though the Nature’s Promise chicken was priced at a discount that I would have considered had that not been the case. 

Both Flashfood orders went smoothly and Field Agent reimbursed me for the mystery shopper gig to my Varo bank card. 

Multiple Flashfood Orders Later

This is an update on my Flashfood app review post to say that I’ve now completed 12 Flashfood orders. 

When I first wrote this review, the program was only available at one Stop and Shop location in Eastern Massachusetts. Things have since changed and now almost all the Stop and Shop locations within a 15 mile radius of Boston have Flashfood.

While it can still be a hit or miss, things have been improving for the better. 

I’ve found some great deals on food including local favorite, Wahlburgers Angus beef burger patties. I’ve also nabbed 100% Grass-fed beef strip loin at rock bottom prices.

Not to mention, many of my orders have been super fresh and not about to expire.

After talking to one of the store managers, I discovered that surplus foods at grocery stores can happen if too much inventory is ordered at one time. In that case, they prefer to sell off these items at a discount before the food goes bad.

That means you save money on groceries and food doesn’t end up in landfills! 

That’s been my recent experience with my Flashfood orders. The app has become one of my new favorite ways to purchase the cheapest groceries in Boston!

Apps Like Flashfood

If you like the idea of fighting food waste, then these other apps similar to Flashfood may interest you as well. 

Imperfect Foods 

Imperfect foods is a subscription box service that sends ‘visually unappealing’ food to your doorstep, that would otherwise go to waste. 

The food is perfectly edible, but due to strict grocery store guidelines, many of these items don’t make it onto store shelves. That’s where you get a chance to nab these imperfect foods at a discount.

Too Good to Go

The Too Good to Go app helps connect people with restaurant ‘leftovers’ that would normally go to waste. Customers buy ‘surprise bags’ from restaurants that range in price from $4 – $7.

These delicious meals are a fraction of the price that you would normally spend for these items. Best of all, you get to try out meals from restaurants that you may have not previously considered. So it also helps restaurants by providing them with brand awareness. 

There are also other ways you can save on groceries including using digital couponing apps such Ibotta and Fetch Rewards. I’ve used both apps to earn thousands of dollars in combined cash back rewards on my grocery purchases.

FlashFood App Final Verdict

This Flashfood app review included work I did with Field Agent, but it also included some of my real sentiments on using the app. 

As I expressed in my Field Agent feedback, I believe Flashfood has a ways to go to make it a really desirable app to use around here. It’s fairly new in Massachusetts and I do believe it will get better in time as more people become aware of it.

But for now, the selection is subpar in my opinion. 

Additionally, many grocery stores around here including Market Basket and Stop and Shop generally have a clearance food shelf somewhere in the store. My mom frequently shops the Market Basket clearance and she always finds perfectly good food (near expiry dates) at 30% – 50% off regular price.

But for those that prefer not to spend time looking for these deals around the store, then Flashfood is an app worth considering. Some of the grocery deals are just ‘ok’ while other deals do provide better savings.

The good news is you can try out Flashfood and get a deal on your first order when you enter promo code PILA432ZF at sign up. You’ll at least be able to try it out for yourself and get $5 in free food when you spend $10 or more.

Flashfood App Review FAQs

Below are some of the most common questions asked when it comes to using the Flashfood app.

Is Flashfood App Free?

Yes. The Flashfood app is free to use and download on both iOS and android mobile phones.

Does Flashfood Accept EBT?

Right now, you can only use your EBT Card in Tops and Meijer Stores. Consider also using your EBT card to get an Amazon Prime 50% off membership discount and shop SNAP and EBT eligible groceries.

Can someone else pick up my Flashfood order?

Yes. As long as they have access to your Flashfood account.

Do I have to pick up Flashfood same day?

You are encouraged to pick up your Flashfood order on the same day to ensure maximum freshness. Though, you can pick it up the following day as long as the food has not passed the expiry date.

What is the Flashfood refund policy?

You can request a refund within 14 days after you make a Flashfood purchase, on eligible orders.

What’s the Flashfood promo code?

The flashfood promo code to receive a $5 credit on your first purchase of $10 or more is: PILA432ZF.

Is the Flashfood app worth it?

Yes. In some areas where Flashfood has a bigger footprint, the grocery deal savings can be significant.

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