Research & Innovation

Irish start-up business Blendi came away as a big winner at the World Food Innovation Awards 2018. Blendi, which was a finalist in two categories at the awards, ‘Best New Concept’ and ‘Best Health and Wellness Product’, walked away with the prize for the World’s ‘Best New Concept.’

Blendi, a quick and easy to make smoothie in seconds using freeze dried whole pieces of fruit and vegetables and nothing else, is the brainchild of Yvonne Dolan, who wanted to create a healthy food rehydration product for her son Shane, a high-performance tennis player who needed vitamins, protein and fibre when on the road playing tournaments. They experimented with all types of dried and rehydrated ingredients and Yvonne, a qualified chef, finally came up with Blendi.

Aimed at healthy people who want Smoothies ‘fast’ with the same nutritional integrity as using fresh fruit and veg, Blendi launched on the market just six weeks ago and Yvonne & Shane are delighted to have gained this early recognition that this significant award brings to Blendi.

“We were so humbled in the first place that Blendi was nominated in two categories at the World Food Innovation Awards’ among such established products and brands, so to win the ‘Best Food Concept’ award is just fantastic and a wonderful way to gain exposure. We are very much aware of the need to accelerate a growth through the ‘start- up period’ and having this title is sure to generate many new leads for Blendi into the coming weeks,” said Yvonne Dolan.

Now in its fourth year, the World Food Innovation Awards showcase some of the most ambitious new food products and developments of the year from a wide range of companies all over the world both large and small.