British startup Winnow’s ambition is to reduce food waste in large and busy commercial kitchens with the help of technology. By providing managers and staff with efficient tools to identify, measure and analyze the exact kind of ingredients being thrown out, food waste can more easily be controlled and reduced. The data is also important and inspiring to chefs who can invent new, innovative dishes and ingredient combinations based on what most often goes to waste.
The equipment consists of a scale topped with a bin that can easily be placed anywhere in the kitchen. Above the bin, there’s a camera and simple touchscreen, used to enter the exact kind of waste that is being tossed; vegetable scraps, fruit peel, stale bread, etc. The camera simultaneously and automatically identifies the produce, making the process even more accurate and efficient while the software immediately calculates the price of the wasted food, thus illustrating that cutting food waste reduces expenses and could possibly even increase profits.
Winnow works with a large number of commercial kitchens like IKEA Norway and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls River Cottage Kitchen in Winchester. Today, the company has five global offices and operates internationally.
