Ecommerce business Whisk wins global innovation challenge to help diabetics
Birmingham-based food platform Whisk has won a global innovation competition which will see its innovative technology used to help people with type 2 diabetes.
Out of 120 shortlisted companies from 25 countries, Whisk won the top prize of €100,000 in the competition, which 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’ that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide personalised food recommendations based on flavour preferences and food avoidance, that will be expanded to use blood glucose data for people with diabetes.
The Whisk platform is an AI-powered nutrition platform that currently enables users to browse recipes based on factors including their personal taste preferences, time constraints, budgets, weather and dietary restrictions or allergies.
Once a user adds a recipe to their meal plan, it can be automatically added to an online shopping cart at some of the world’s leading grocery retailers.
As winner of the challenge, Whisk now plans to create a personalised food experience for people with type 2 diabetes that will learn from their blood glucose readings and make food recommendations that are more tailored to their own diabetes.
Using readings from Ascensia’s blood glucose monitoring systems, the AI will learn how the user’s blood glucose readings react to specific foods and recipes, allowing them to build a tailored meal plan for their diabetes that can help to keep their blood glucose in range.
The Culinary Coach for diabetes start by providing personalised recipe recommendations, and will in the future develop to suggest convenience foods and restaurant options.
Michael Kloss, CEO and President of Ascensia Diabetes Care, said: “Nutrition and food selection is a huge component of type 2 diabetes management. The panel of judges and I were hugely impressed by Whisk’s current tool and how they plan to develop it for people with type 2 diabetes. By helping people with type 2 diabetes find personalized and tailored meal recommendations that are based on their own blood glucose data and food preferences, we have the potential to empower millions of people with type 2 diabetes to make healthier food choices that they will enjoy.”
Whisk will now use the €100,000 prize money to pilot the service, working closely with Ascensia Diabetes Care to bring it to patients.
Nick Holzherr, Whisk founder and CEO, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the winner of the Ascensia Diabetes Challenge. Type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic levels in recent years, and at Whisk we are excited to be building a solution that we feel can help support these patients to make lasting lifestyle changes. We hope that through our work with Ascensia Diabetes Care, we can help to change the way this condition is managed.”
