Barking students win £5,000 award for their ethical start-up

Three students from Barking have been handed a major boost to their company after their start-up, which turns rejected fruit and veg into smoothies, scooped an award.

Ooze Drinks won £5,000 cash and access to mentoring from oil giant Shell through their Livewire Smarter Future Programme.

The company won the award because their business plan tackles environmental and social issues around wasteful food production.

Giuseppe Baidoo, Samson Opayemi and Valerie Akano, who all study at the University of East London, are the company’s employees.

Giuseppe said: “For the awards we had to think about sustainability and how to tackle food waste. I came up with the idea of recycling fruit and veg because I was thinking about a business idea where I could partner with local food outlets.

“We didn’t win the competition, but my colleagues and I decided to pursue the idea. We visited farmers and started doing more in-depth research.”