Startup of the Week - Whisk

by Startacus Admin

Our latest Startup of the Week may be familiar to any of you who are avid viewers of The Apprentice. During the 2012 series, the startup idea for Whisk was pitched to Lord Sugar by its founder, Apprentice contestant Nick Holzherr and although Nick did not secure the backing of Lord Sugar, he has since managed to secure investment for the business of over £0.5m, and the business is going from strength to strength.

So then, Whisk, what’s it all about?

Well in basic terms, Whisk is a free online tool which allows people who are looking at a recipe on the internet to purchase the ingredients they would need for that recipe from an online supermarket.
If you find a recipe that you like, you simply add it to your Whisk shopping list, together with the number of portions that you would like. Whisk then interprets the recipes and the ingredients you would need and creates a shopping list which it then transfers to the supermarket, so you can buy what you need straight away. Pretty simple concept...

It’s easy to see how a tool like this would be welcomed by anyone who regularly browses the internet searching for inspiration for what to cook for dinner. And of course the supermarkets and online grocery stores will surely benefit too.
But what of the recipe creators? The bloggers, the foodies, the professionals who post their favourite recipes for free - what do they stand to gain?
Well, the good thing about Whisk is that they can share in any revenue generated from their recipes - it is after all through these recipes that Whisk derives its content.

The app is currently available for free on iPhone, iPod, Android, Kindle and Nook. An iPad and Windows Phone version are apparently due to be launched soon too.

It may be a simple enough concept - buying ingredients through online shopping, however it’s one which Whisk have approached in a really innovative way - to the benefit of consumers, retailers and online publishers alike. Go try it for yourself - we reckon you’ll agree. 

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Published on: 27th March 2013