These women are transforming YOUR WELLBEING
Fun and easy, apps have transformed workouts and nutrition. healthy meets the real women putting our wellbeing back in our hands
WORDS LAURA POTTER
There are millions of apps available out there for us to download and, encouragingly, among the most popular are those based on health, exercise and our diets. You might think they’re all created by whizz kids over in Silicone Valley, but some of the most innovative offerings are the brainchildren of dedicated, passionate and inspiring women living right here in the UK. Here, they share their passion for wellness.
THE APP Olio
THE MISSION Banish food waste, build communities
THE CREATORS Tessa Cook and Saasha Celestial-One
Saasha (left) and Tessa are changing the way we think about food waste
‘My parents were dairy farmers, so I know how much work goes into producing food – I would never dream of throwing it away,’ says Tessa.
‘The idea for Olio struck when I was moving from Switzerland to London in 2014. I had food I couldn’t eat, but I couldn’t find anyone to take it, so I ended up packing it to bring to the UK. It seemed ridiculous – I knew that there would be people less than 100m away who would love it, but they didn’t know about my food and I didn’t know they needed it.
‘Food banks are amazing, but they can only take tinned and dried foods, and nothing that’s been opened. The average UK family throws away £700-worth of food every year – and I think the solution is for someone who lives very near you to come and pick it up. So the idea for the app was born; you post a picture of the food you’d like to share, it appears on local Olio users apps and they can arrange to collect it.