E-commerce food platform wins global innovation challenge

Birmingham-based food platform, Whisk, has announced it’s claimed the top prize in a global innovation challenge.

The group won the Ascensia Diabetes Challenge and €100,000 for its Digital Dietician proposal to help in the fight against type 2 diabetes.

The proposal was launched to seek out digital solutions from start-up companies and entrepreneurs that could facilitate better type 2 diabetes management and improve the lives of people with the condition. Whisk’s winning innovation was its ‘culinary coach’ for our Digital Dietician proposal to help in the fight against type 2 diabetes.

A statement said on the company’s website: “To win against 114 entrants and six very strong finalists in a two day assessment is a fantastic vote of confidence in Whisk’s technology and team! We look forward to helping a lot of people enjoy healthier, more delicious new foods!”

The group also has announced an integration with Instacart and Amazon to connect over 100 million monthly recipe views, from over 20 recipe publishers, to US and UK online carts.

Whisk uses advanced deep learning technology to match consumers’ grocery shopping preferences with 500,000 recipes from leading publishers, simplifying meal planning for millions of homes in the US, UK, Australia and 6 more languages internationally.

Speaking on the announcement, CEO, Nick Holzherr, said, “Whisk’s US growth has been remarkable. We are enjoying working with really smart partners and looking forward to many more exciting developments in 2018.”

Holzherr first pitched the business idea to Lord Sugar on BBC One’s The Apprentice, making it to the final round of The Apprentice and then secured private investment to build Whisk.

Whisk is a globally distributed team with hubs in Birmingham, Edinburgh and Moscow.

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