Winnow named as one of the UK’s most promising AI businesses
Circularity Capital portfolio company Winnow Solutions has been profiled by The Times as one of the UK’s most promising AI businesses. Published within a three-part series spotlighting pioneering scale-ups, Winnow was recognised for its powerful use of AI technology and data processing to accelerate progress towards a more circular economy.
Founded in 2013, Winnow has developed a first-to-market AI device capable of designing out food waste in commercial catering facilities. The technology works by taking photos of wasted food as it's thrown away, recording its weight and uploading data to the cloud. Over time, a detailed picture of waste arisings is created, which helps chefs to adapt menu choices, adjust portion sizes and prevent spoilage.
With operations in 29 countries, the business works in close partnership with some of the world’s largest food service companies. Customers adopting its AI solution can typically halve food waste within 12 months (from the point of installation), while subsequently increasing gross margins between 2-6%.
The company’s unique technology is already being used by global brands such as Compass Group and AccorHotels. Feedback is hugely positive, with businesses previously hampered by rising purchase and disposal costs now able to navigate these issues with confidence. For example, since partnering with Winnow, Ingka Group, the world’s largest IKEA retailer, has achieved a 54% reduction in food waste across its operations. This makes it the first major corporate to meet the SDG of halving food loss and waste by 2030.
Ian Nolan, partner at Circularity Capital, said: “Global food waste is expected to rise by more than a third between now and 2030, with predictions highlighting that almost 2.1bn tons will be lost or thrown away every year – the equivalent of 66 tons per second, worth approximately $1.2tn, and responsible for approximately 8-10% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions.[1]
“Winnow has developed a highly effective preventative solution to save its clients a lot of money and tackle these issues head-on –it's is experiencing continued success with major international brands. With food waste seen as a major contributor to organisational carbon emissions, popularity for its AI driven solution continues to grow.
“Being named in The Times’ list of the UK’s most promising AI businesses is the latest in a long line of successes for the firm that demonstrate the truly disruptive potential of embracing circular business models.”
For more information about Winnow, or its pioneering AI food waste technologies, visit www.winnowsolutions.com.
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[1] https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/tackling-1.6-billion-ton-food-loss-and-waste-crisis