Meet the founder of Spoon Guru
Hi Markus it’s lovely to meet you and thank you for the interview. So, who is the man behind Spoon Guru?
I started my career in the music industry, working as European Managing Director at Crowdsurge, Managing Director at Warner Music International, and Senior International Producer at Peoplesound. I also have an MA in Composition and a BA in Commercial Music. While I’ll always be passionate about music, the 15 years I’ve spent working in the digital industry spurred a new passion, for understanding and developing new digital technologies that can empower people around the globe and positively impact their lives.
Could you give me a breakdown of what Spoon Guru is and how it works?
Spoon Guru is a London-based, innovative technology company helping people to find food products and recipes that suit their individual dietary requirements. The technology we have developed at Spoon Guru uses a unique combination of AI, machine learning and category expertise, to search hundreds of thousands of products and recipes, to deliver relevant food choices that exactly fit user’s food preferences. The technology is available to everyone in the UK, through our free to download consumer app – simply scan a barcode through the app and it’ll tell you whether that product is right for you. We also recently announced a game changing partnership with supermarket giant Tesco who have licensed our technology to power their entire online grocery offering. They realised they had to respond to rapidly increasing consumer demand for more accuracy, transparency and choice when it comes to making the right food choices.
The app caters to an ever increasing consumer market with a large percentage of the UK population affected by food intolerances - what kind of market research led to the discovery of such an open yet under-served niche?
There is a substantial amount of research on food allergies and intolerances in the UK, from the likes of the NHS, Food Standards Agency and British Nutrition Foundation, to name just a few! It’s certainly an issue that’s getting more attention, as the number of those affected by food intolerances grows. Allergy UK estimate that 45% of the country’s population are now affected by food intolerances, which is approximately 29 million people – a huge number of people to be struggling with an everyday task of grocery shopping.
The idea for Spoon Guru came about when my wife developed multiple food allergies and we really struggled to find foods that she could eat. That’s when I got together with my two co-founders Tim Allen and Simon Oregan who also recognised the problem from personal experience. Personally going through that process opened our eyes to the limit of the food industry’s product search capabilities. And here is the clincher, even if you have a food allergy you may also have additional food preferences on top. For example you may be on a low sugar diet, or vegan, or kosher. Spoon Guru supports anybody’s food preference. Users just tell us what they do or don’t like, and we find suitable products and recipes for their unique, individual needs.
How do you feel companies can benefit from the incorporation of startup technologies to meet complex consumer needs?
As a rule, large companies are very structured organisations. They have a number of processes and procedures in place that often require sign-off from multiple areas of the business, which hinders their ability to change. That’s where startups come in. Startups and innovation are synonymous. Essentially you have startups pushing the boundaries to create new technologies, while absorbing the risk, then established companies can uptake tried and tested products.
Previously you were employed by Warner Music Group where you were able to assist them in their transition into the digital age, what inspired you to leave a major company and start your own company?
At Warner Music we pioneered direct to consumer. We were the first major to enable artists to interact directly with a global audience and sell their music, tickets and merchandise directly to the fan - no need for the middleman. Fans could go directly to the artist website and buy anything they liked in one go. I was in charge of setting up the international division, which quickly became a multi-million dollar business. I’ve always been passionate about using technology to facilitate better outcomes for customers, and the pioneering work we did at Warner inspired me to bring this technology to new sectors.
What would you say is the biggest difference between working for a company and working as an entrepreneur?
You have more control, and not in the stereotypical way of being your own boss and setting your own hours, but more control on the business goals and end-product – ultimately it’s your project and you are responsible for turning your idea into a reality, and a success.
You’re clearly well versed in the digital world with years of experience and knowledge - using your expertise, what would be your future predictions for this ever-changing digital era we live in?
Consumer needs are getting increasingly complex, but that’s ok. We should celebrate the fact that everybody is unique. The future will be based on personalisation and convenience. As a consumer, it’s got to be easy, simple and effortless to get what I want, and it needs to be tailored to me. If you can’t deliver at this level, somebody else will and they’ll get my business.
Since your launch you have partnered with major supermarket Tesco, why Tesco above all there other supermarket competitors?
Tesco approached us early on, as they wanted to make sure their products would be compatible with our consumer app, which naturally lead to discussions about how our technology could benefit them further. Tesco’s online shopping site and shopping app is now powered by Spoon Guru, which allows them to offer a more tailored service to shoppers that have food intolerances or allergies - giving them a huge advantage in the market! Though that’s not to say that Tesco will be the only grocery retailer we work with – any food business can benefit from our technology, large and small, and our aim is to help as many people as possible.
If you had to give one tip for other aspiring tech companies what would it be?
The golden rule is that you need 2 out of 3 things to have a chance at success. A ripe market, a good product and a great team. If you get all 3 you are probably onto a winner.
In this episode Nadine Sandcroft spoke to Anthony Odogwu, founder of Future Space Technologies. He talks being an entrepreneur in the age of millennials, preparing for the future of technology, Generation Z, and what young entrepreneurs should really be asking themselves before they go into business.
It was more of a gut feeling that led us to the intersection of digitalisation, mobiles and the democratisation of payments. Paynetics felt strongly about making moving and managing money right for everyone and started building a platform that covers it all.
I’m Simon Goodman and I started out in PR, where I was introduced to the noble Choc Ice working on the Cadburys account. At the time they were looking to upgrade the humble choc ice.
In 2017, Matt launched Borrow A Boat, aka the ‘Airbnb’ of boats, making waves in the charter industry by offering a modern marketplace solution with the aim of making boating more accessible, affordable, flexible and inclusive for all.
Founded in 2021 by Alisa Patotsakaya, Immersive Fox is a text-to-video generation startup that specialises in providing businesses with AI-generated videos for sales and customer communication.
Samantha Gilchrist, co-founder and CEO of The Gilchrist Collection, shares her life as an entrepreneur.
Co-founded by Conrad Poulson in 2014, Huq has been at the forefront of utilising cutting- edge technologies and innovative mobility research methods.
Going from employee to founder was a huge leap of faith. I announced the agency just a few days after turning 26 and like most 26-year-olds, I hadn’t ever owned or run a business before.
Patchwork Health was co-founded by Dr Anas Nader and Dr Jing Ouyang with the mission to make truly flexible and sustainable working a reality for all healthcare staff, amid the current workforce crisis.
Emilie Vallauri is a 27-year-old program manager at Techstars with a passion for innovation. Born and raised in Nice, France, Emilie studied business and political sciences before embarking on a career punctuated by innovation and supporting startups.
Zsuzsa has been instrumental in growing Antavo from a startup to a scaleup. As Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder, she is transforming the company into a unique loyalty technology vendor, offering a next-gen, best-in-class solution to the loyalty sector.
Software engineering and product development is my specialisation - and I have had a wide range of experience across the industry. I had a brilliant 22-year long career at IBM, working across a number of roles, which I really loved.
Holly Zoccolan is an entrepreneur and Founder of new parenting app, Carol. Before Founding Carol and entering the tech space, Holly built successful online wellness brand The Health Zoc in 2016.
Anna Gudmundson is the CEO and co-founder of Sensate, a device that emits infrasonic waves that are synchronised to resonate with the specially composed hemispheric audio in the app.
Rebecca is Senior Vice President of Clients, Partnership and Creative Transformation at CreativeX, provider of an industry-first AI driven data platform to help the world’s most loved brands including PepsiCo, Nestle and Facebook achieve creative excellence.
Five sustainable gaming companies that provide great inspiration to startups wanting to do good in the world.
From 31 January, businesses moving goods from the European Union (EU) to Great Britain (GB) will need to comply with new UK safety and security declaration requirements.
Its simplicity has made transitioning from traditional tobacco to vaping a breeze for many.
Bitcoin, the digital currency conceived in 2009 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, is a financial phenomenon. Despite the volatility of global markets, it has demonstrated remarkable resilience.
From university students and young entrepreneurs to senior executives, imposter syndrome remains a common thread in everyone’s personal career journey.
Seeing your ideas materialise, working for yourself, leading others, and becoming a CEO might seem like a dream come true, and indeed, it is for many.
While the benefits of a well-executed PR strategy are evident to practitioners, misconceptions among business leaders often cast PR as fluff, lacking business results.
In an era marked by the cost-of-living crisis, the landscape of consumer behaviour is undergoing a significant transformation. This shift demands a strategic adaptation from businesses.
When it comes to managing spend in a business, the budgeting process can set a high level of accountability. This drives headcount forecasts, subscription-based spend, and key projects throughout the year.
Real-world usage of ChatGPT highlights a challenge that entrepreneurs and business leaders face today in understanding how to harness ChatGPT's capabilities effectively and seamlessly integrate it into business processes to yield tangible productivity.
However, 2022 was the year of the Amazon aggregation downfall. Funding dried up and inflation and rising interest rates hit the highly leveraged aggregators’ debt hard.
It goes without saying that moving away from outdated decision-making processes which rely solely on a handful of senior executives can unlock a realm of opportunity for businesses, but it is useful to begin by considering why exactly there is a need for this change.
Beyond the launch, the challenge then becomes the pursuit to be seen. This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in to act as an ally for your online business. With the high street experiencing dwindling foot traffic, the allure of being a hidden gem has lost its appeal.
When the narrative is almost always the same, it can perpetuate a very particular idea of how a business should be run that has for so long excluded so many.
With the emergence of embedded finance and digital payment solutions, a lot of businesses are experiencing fundamental shifts leading them to become, to some extent, a fintech.
The difference between securing the investment and losing interest often hinges on how effective startups are at conveying their vision and value proposition, so creating a compelling pitch deck has never been more important.
Acknowledging these concerns, Dr. Yousef Alhammadi, the Executive Director of The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA), sheds light on a groundbreaking approach that empowers parents to safeguard their children’s digital experiences.
Every business has taken on the responsibility to speed up the process of collecting customer payments without compromising security. It is another way to stay competitive in a business environment with decreasing margins and substantial competition.
Edge computing has emerged as one of the most important trends in IT since the advent of ChatGPT and LLMs.
Are you equipped to embrace the future of tax administration? With the UK's Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative, traditional tax practices are poised for a digital makeover.
Recent instances of Microsoft, TikTok, and Meta facing GDPR fines due to inadequate protection of young people's data underscore the insufficiency of efforts by Big Tech to safeguard the next generation of consumers.
Now, there are opportunities to access accounting software that simplifies the process. This is especially crucial since tax regulations have gone digital, requiring all financial reports, including tax returns, to be submitted online.
Within this exciting landscape, the concept of "smart EVs #1" has emerged, encompassing a range of cutting-edge electric models that combine intelligence, sustainability, and style.
A happy and healthy workforce will bring more productivity, engagement, and loyalty. However, it’s important employer’s realise a ‘1 size fits all’ approach to wellbeing just won’t cut it.
In particular, AI’s potential impact on email marketing cannot be overstated. For businesses, it has the potential to streamline activity, increase engagement, and ultimately drive conversions.
From the humble kitchen table offices to the dynamic innovation hubs scattered across the UK, venture capitalists and angel investors have wholeheartedly recognised the nation's immense potential in spearheading advancements in the tech sector.
You are an early-stage founder, eager to generate buzz and excitement around your business. You live and breathe your startup, but how do you catch the media's attention and inspire them to write about it?
Circular economy is another way of thinking about an economic system that far better matches both the fact that man exists as part of an ecosystem, not separated from it, and how we best create and deliver valuable solutions.
A sales strategy is a plan of action that outlines the approach and tactics a business will use to achieve its sales goals and sell to prospective clients. It details the steps that a company will take to identify, engage, and convert leads.
Early-stage entrepreneurs across the UK with a clear social or environmental mission are invited to apply for EASI26 – the Entrepreneurs' Award in Social Innovation – before the 31st March 2026 deadline.
University of Edinburgh spin-out BIOCAPTIVA has raised £1.58 million in a new funding round and launched its first product in the US.
The appointment represents a key step in AppsFlyer’s continued evolution as the Modern Marketing Cloud, helping brands unify measurement, data collaboration, and activation across increasingly complex digital ecosystems.
However, the findings underline a clear truth for business leaders – human connection remains a powerful driver of commercial performance, and leadership confidence.
SPORTL, a London-based pay-as-you-train fitness booking platform, has launched today across app stores after closing a £250K pre-seed funding round backed by industry experts.
With this investment, Uvionix will accelerate its product release and expand its market presence across the US and Europe.
The company's technology will have innovative applications in infant nutrition, cosmetic and dermatological, and cognitive industries.
This funding will accelerate Mulder’s mission to tackle the transparency and compliance challenges that complicate the medical device supply chain.
Tangible, a software platform for decarbonizing construction has raised $3 million in a funding round co-led by Prologis Ventures and Pi Labs. Additional investors include Foundamental, Silence VC, and RE Angels.
DBLX, led by CEO and Co-Founder Nicky Hoyland, collaborates with global enterprises to enhance their people experiences. The company’s offerings include immersive digital content, bespoke platform development, and strategic consulting services.
Apheris, the leading federated computing company powering data networks for the life sciences sector, today announced the completion of a Series A funding round, bringing total funding to date to $20.8 million.
Co-investors on deals during 2024 included Investment Fund for Scotland (managed by Maven Capital), Scottish National Investment Bank, Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity, Mercia and various Scottish angel syndicates.
This funding will propel Criterion Capital's vision of redefining hospitality with its sleep-centric, design-forward hotel concept.
The theme of this year’s BBBAwards is #NEXT. Now in its 11th year, the BBBAwards is marking a new decade of celebration of the outstanding achievements of Black professionals and entrepreneurs in the UK.
Aistetic, a groundbreaking Oxford University AI spinout, has proudly announced its participation in the Techstars Future of Ecommerce Accelerator powered by eBay, a highly competitive program designed to help shape ecommerce.
An alarming new study of workplace leaders describes an environment of unconscious fear in modern-day leadership, leading to toxic culture, stunted growth, performance and productivity, and decision inertia.
Mambu, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud banking platform, today announced it is now available in AWS Marketplace, making it one of the first core banking providers on the site.
Bengalis have been rewarded and acknowledged for their substantial contribution to healthcare, finance, politics, education and the arts.
Retail PR will be working with COOK in the lead up to Christmas, helping to support their PR objectives throughout the golden quarter.
A new cohort of six GeoTech and PropTech start-ups has just been selected to start on its Accelerator Programme.
In 2020, data confirmed that there are 1,223,850 tonnes of waste disposed in the ocean, with future predictions standing at a rise of 60% by 2030, 147.4% by 2040 and 274% by 2050.
A growing social enterprise supported by a global network, Impact Hub London Euston at Regent’s Place will offer under-served local communities affordable workspace and tailored business support, as well as arranging impactful engagement activities throughout Camden.
Phil Race appointed as Chief Executive as Jim Darragh steps down after seven successful years of leadership.
Appointment of product management leader, Phillip Burr, to bring Lumai’s game-changing AI technology to market across all regions.
New data released from Tech Climbers has revealed how Greater Manchester’s tech sector continues to thrive, as companies plan to attract millions in investment.
Appointments of Joel Cardenas as the new Head of Business Development for Latin America, and Ard Crebas as the new Head of Business Development for North America and the Caribbean.
Fastest growing modern-day learning management system, Thrive Learning, has announced a number of new appointments within the team as part of their ambitious growth plans.
Ai Build, the Additive Manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D printing) software company, has raised a Series A round of $8.5 million led by IQ Capital.
The Board of Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC ("Arbuthnot", the "Company" or the "Group") provides the following update regarding the trading performance of the Group for the three months to 30 September 2023.
The partnership enables service providers worldwide to access the UK network footprint with location-based intelligence and automated and standardised quoting.
Bitcoin, the digital currency conceived in 2009 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, is a financial phenomenon. Despite the volatility of global markets, it has demonstrated remarkable resilience.