Tech giant UST hosted its annual Zero-waste Hackathon 2025 in London last week, bringing together students and young professionals to develop innovative tech solutions to combat food waste.
The event received 88 entries worldwide, with top teams from India, Spain, the US and UK.
Finalists competed in-person and virtually, addressing food waste challenges, particularly in buffet hospitality settings.
Teams were evaluated by judges from Amazon Web Services, Compass Group, Levy, and 40 Percent.
The winning external team, Zero Forks (UK), impressed judges with their gamified app that uses behavioural science to reduce household food waste by making sustainable habits engaging and interactive.
The app encourages users to track waste, engage with food brands, and improve their impact through fun challenges.
The internal winner, Cul Intel (India), presented an AI-powered platform that optimises menu planning, portioning, pricing and real-time food redistribution.
Their data-driven solution aims to help food service providers reduce waste while boosting operational efficiency.
Winners shared a £1,500 prize pool and received certificates at the closing awards ceremony.
Praveen Prabhakaran, Chief Delivery Officer at UST, said: “This hackathon was more than just a competition—it was a call to action. We’re proud to support the next generation of changemakers.”
