Isabella Mandich

Isabella Mandich moved from Los Angeles to London for university. With an interest in food and local culture, she wanted to create a business that would make a positive impact in her community.

LocalMeal is an online platform designed to help adventurous foodies discover delicious, independently owned restaurants. The idea originated from a group assignment during her studies, but she decided to turn it into a business after discovering that people struggled to find authentic, local places when travelling.

Isabella has a high-fidelity working prototype which has been tested with users. It’s currently undergoing a second round of beta development and already has a waitlist of over 500 people.

“I feel proud to be a Young Innovator because building a startup at 21 years old is an unusual and challenging path – most of my peers are looking towards more traditional ‘stable’ jobs. This Award gives me the confidence and motivation to highlight to others that being a startup founder is a valuable and rewarding experience,” she says.