Online recipe firm in major Sainsbury’s deal
ABIRMINGHAM tech firm has struck a new partnership deal with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s.
Whisk is a nutrition website that enables users to browse recipes based on factors such as personal taste and budgets then add a recipe to their meal plan.
They can then be added to an online shopping cart at a selection of grocery retailers, with Sainbury’s becoming the latest to join the online platform.
Whisk now has five UK grocery partners, with Sainsbury’s joining Asda, Ocado, Teso and Waitrose, and it powers shoppable recipes for publishers such as BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver.com and the Food Network.
This latest tie-up with Sainsbury’s comes at a time when more people are discovering online grocery retailing, brought on by the enforced restrictions and self-isolating as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sainsbury’s grocery sales were up by 8.2 per cent year-on-year in quarter three of 2020, with digital sales up by 117 per cent to £5.8 billion.
Whisk founder Nick Holzherr said: “We’re thrilled to bring Sainsbury’s into our Whisk partner ecosystem.
“As one of the premier grocers in the UK, Sainsbury’s is a leader in online grocery delivery and e-commerce.
“We know from our user feedback that a Sainsbury’s integration will be popular with users at a time when online grocery shopping is critical in the UK.”
Whisk was launched in 2013 by Aston University graduate Mr Holzherr who appeared on hit BBC show The Apprentice the previous year and even pitched the business to Alan Sugar.
In 2019, it was bought out by global tech giant Samsung in order to join its ‘Next’ innovation division focussed on building and growing ideas.
James Leech, head of product at Sainsbury’s, added: “Customers are increasingly choosing to do their grocery shopping and find recipes online.
“They need to find their favourite foods quickly and conveniently and this new partnership with Whisk will help inspire shoppers with a huge range of recipe ideas and make it even simpler for them to add to their bag and buy.”