A Loughborough entrepreneur aiming to reduce food waste says his startup is “off to a strong start” since launching his “recipe search engine” two months ago.

Jacob Strauss’ website gumbo.co.uk enables users to select which ingredients they already have at home and then create a recipe from those items.

Since launch its seen around 6,000 visitor a month. The founder says they include busy mums looking for a quick meal to feed their kids and students hoping to impress their loved ones with a special dish.

Gumbo’s mission is to offer a simple and effective solution to a widespread problem, food waste. The startup says the average household in the UK throws out 4.52 kg of food each week. That is roughly £15 worth of food, which is enough to feed two adults and a child for almost two days.

Jacob says the website is currently free to use but he plans to monetize the platform through advertising and affiliate marketing programs.

“In the long term, we aim to become one of the major recipe portals and meal planning services. We will also partner with major grocery stores and food brands to offer our users exclusive discounts and promotions. Gumbo is off to a strong start, and we are confident in its potential to become a leading player in the recipe search market. In the coming years, we look forward to further tackling the issue of food waste and serving tasty meals to our users.”