Food waste concept recognised by Innovate UK

Food waste is the focus of one of the winners of Innovate UK’s Future Retail Innovation contest.

Five startups have been awarded up to £35,000 through the IC tomorrow programme. The companies will be working with industry leading organisations, such as Unilever and Tesco, to build and develop technology that aims to revamp the retail business.

The successful small businesses beat over 100 applicants with solutions addressing pressing challenges that face the retail industry, with one of the five being Thaw Technology.

Pioneering new ways to fight food waste, Thaw Technology will be partnering with Tesco and WRAP to engineer a technology – Use-By-Mate – to empower consumers to reduce food waste in the UK.

Innovate UK’s lead technologist, digital economy and IC tomorrow programme manager, Matt Sansam, comments, “Consumers increasingly want more from their shopping experience and digital solutions are a key way for the industry to give consumers what they want. Each of the five winners demonstrates how new innovative technologies can be used to deliver positive interactions between the consumer and the retail industry.

“We are excited to see how these businesses develop and grow while working with our challenge partners, as they move on to the next stage of their product development.”

Product trials for this competition launch in 2017.