The youngest contestants ever to pitch at St James’s Palace, Siena Jackson-Wolfe and India Garret-Cox, walked away with the audience vote with their innovative food waste technology solution, the ‘Eat Me’ app.

Eat Me App was founded in 2016 by the two Bristol schoolgirls when they were set a task at school of engineering a solution to an environmental problem. They chose to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) device which aims to transform the relationship between consumers and their food wastage. The device is installed in the consumer’s fridge or cupboard and alerts them via an app when their food is about to pass its sell by date. The device also suggests recipes for the consumer based on what is currently in their fridge.

“From the word go, the Pitch@Palace experience has been a whirlwind. We have made great connections with people who have offered to help our business in ways we could never have imagined when we submitted the application form,” co-founder Jackson-Wolfe said

“Eat Me App has grown so much throughout this process and this wouldn’t have happened without The Duke of York and his team, who we would like to thank for their invaluable support. Being 14 years old, we didn’t know what to expect when we entered five months ago; entering a prestigious competition like Pitch can be terrifying,” they added. “However, although all the red and gold at St. James’s Palace was intimidating, the experience has developed both our business and us as young women in an ever-changing technological world. We would like to say thank you to everyone involved in Pitch@Palace 8.0; we know we will be buzzing for days!”

The duo impressed the audience of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and potential business partners and beat out competition from 40 other start-ups at the pitching competition backed by the Duke of York on Wednesday night.

Pitch@Palace was established by The Duke of York in 2014 to support entrepreneurs with the amplification and acceleration of their business idea. The theme for Pitch@Palace 8.0 was ‘The Future of Mobility, Autonomous Systems and Materials’. Many of the businesses pitching explored the potential impact that technological innovations in the mobility and connectivity sectors can have on our everyday lives. The evening saw the finalists pitching for three minutes each across an incredible range of different technologies, with second place being awarded to By Miles, the UK’s first real-time pay-per-mile car insurer. In third place came Zap&Go, a company looking to disrupt the electric vehicle charging market by improving charge time and battery life.

The Duke of York commented: “In the UK, Pitch@Palace continues to find brilliant businesses across many localities and many sectors and our mantra of providing the best opportunities for these businesses to find mentors, distribution systems, supply chains, connections and investment are as import as ever. I am always inspired by the talent we see as we travel around the country.”

In addition to the audience’s favourite, Quit Genius was awarded the People’s Choice Award. The People’s Choice was voted for by the public from the 41 finalists that took part in the Pitch@Palace Boot Camp. Quit Genius is an app that uses cognitive behavioural therapy to help smokers quit. Entries for Pitch@Palace 9.0, which will take the theme of ‘Data, Intelligence, and The Future of Security” are now open. The competition will take place in April 2018.