Business & Technology
Henley start‑up Welvow aims to fix women’s wellness search
Hailing from Henley-on-Thames, Welvow is designed to help women find trusted and personalised health and wellbeing services without the frustration of endless internet searches and unverified recommendations.
Founded by acupuncturist and yoga teacher Tiff Kertesz, alongside Kate Kirrane and Nick Kertesz, the platform uses intelligent matching technology to connect users with a curated network of vetted practitioners and classes, offering ongoing support through personalised content and events.
Tiff Kertesz, co-founder of Welvow, said: “Every woman I treat has spent months self-diagnosing, misdirecting herself and feeling unheard before she walks into my clinic.
“Welvow exists so that searching for the right support stops being a second job.”
The platform launched in June 2026 with its Founding Practitioner Programme, aiming to build a high-quality network of providers before a wider consumer rollout later in the year.
Welvow enters the market at a time of mounting pressure on healthcare services.
In May 2026, NHS England reported more than 7.1 million treatments remained on waiting lists in England.
The Fawcett Society also found that nearly two-thirds of women feel their health concerns are not taken seriously.
The platform’s core feature is a one-minute wellness quiz designed to understand not just symptoms, but how users hope to feel differently over time.
Users are then matched with recommended local practitioners, classes and tailored resources to support their wellbeing journey.
Welvow is not a booking platform or directory but describes itself as an ongoing ‘wellness companion’.
Ms Kertesz said: “The NHS is under historic strain, with eight-minute GP appointments and long waiting lists.
“So much of everyday wellbeing, the sleep, the stress, the aches, the energy, the long, slow recoveries, now sits in a gap the system simply cannot reach.
“More than four in ten of us already turn to some form of complementary or natural support at some point, yet finding the right person for it is still left almost entirely to chance.”
The platform also aims to support the UK’s growing network of independent wellness practitioners.
Co-founder Kate Kirrane, who also founded the practitioner network SEED, said: “There are thousands of exceptional practitioners doing life-changing work across the UK.
“But the industry remains incredibly fragmented.
“Welvow is about creating a trusted, thoughtful ecosystem that works for both practitioners and the people searching for support.”
Welvow was built and is based in the UK with privacy and UK GDPR compliance at its core.
It will launch in selected UK regions before expanding nationally.
Thames Valley-based Grundon was recognised for its health and safety performance throughout 2025, with the award presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Reg Hodson, head of SHEQ at Grundon, said: “We are delighted to receive the RoSPA Gold Award once again.
“This achievement is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our employees, who put safety at the heart of everything they do.
“Maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing is fundamental to our business.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our teams across the company and our ongoing commitment to creating safe and healthy environments for our employees, customers, contractors and the wider community.”
The RoSPA Awards, now in their 70th year, have grown to become the world’s largest and most prestigious health and safety awards programme.
Originally established as a small event to recognise organisations prioritising worker safety in the UK, the programme has expanded to attract around 2,000 entries from nearly 60 countries in 2026.
Grundon’s award was presented at a ceremony held on June 30.
RoSPA Gold Award winners are recognised for achieving a ‘very high level of performance,’ according to the organisation.
Winners also demonstrate strong risk management practices and ‘well-developed occupational health and safety management systems’.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop, on Red Lion Farm in Watlington, was given a one star rating by South Oxfordshire District Council environmental health officers following a routine visit.
One key problem on the day was the management of food safety, which was deemed to require “major improvement”.
One category noted as being “generally satisfactory”, however, was the cleanliness and condition of both the facilities and building.
Meanwhile hygienic food handling was deemed as “improvement necessary”.
The farm shop was previously handed a five out of five rating in July 2024.
Last month Britwell Salome Farm Shop was named ‘local food and drink champions’ for the south east in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026.
Ms Mearns said her family, including herself, her husband and their three children, set up at Red Lion Farm in 1993 and took over the chilled unit in the barn when it became vacant in 2008, to begin selling the farm’s meat, including pork, beef and lamb, directly to customers, from field to fork.
The shop also stocks a large selection of other locally produced food, from seasonal fruit and veg from a farm in Stanton St John to local honey from the village, jams and preserves which raise money for Oxford homeless charity Porch, as well as bread baked fresh in Thame.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop was approached for a comment.
The Henley Distillery was slapped with a two-out-of-five food hygiene rating after an inspection by environmental health inspectors in January this year.
Although inspectors deemed the hygienic food handling and management of food safety ‘generally satisfactory’, they deemed the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building needing necessary improvement.
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This includes having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.
The company is no stranger to poor food hygiene ratings, given a one-out-of-five food hygiene rating in 2024, and another one in 2025.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail in 2024 the founder and master distiller Jacob Wilson said the low score was unfair and he was shocked by the rating.
He said: ““Unfortunately due to the diverse nature of businesses in South Oxfordshire, they do not have specialists in each field to run their audits which meant our auditor had never even set foot in a distillery before visiting us.”
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The Henley Distillery at Hampstead Farm was opened in 2021 and produces gin and rum in the historic barn in the countryside.
Henley Festival, which is also sponsored by champagne brand Moet and Chandon, is currently taking place, kicking off on Wednesday, July 8 and finishing on Sunday, July 12.
Recognised with awards such as the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group’s SME Business of the Year, the business is a popular tourist attraction with distillery experiences available.
The Henley Distillery has been approached for comment.
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