FoodLama
2 known investors
FoodLama is a UK browser extension that flags and recommends online grocery products matching a household's dietary preferences.
Also known as Hey FoodLama
Investors · 2
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026FoodLama develops a Chrome/browser extension that acts as a layer over online supermarket websites, helping shoppers with allergies, intolerances and dietary preferences identify which products they can and cannot eat. Users pre-set the dietary requirements of their household; as they browse a grocer's site, the extension displays indicators (initially a green/red signal, later stickers) next to products and, where a product does not fit, suggests the closest suitable alternative available from that grocer. The stated aim is to remove the need to read long ingredient lists or to shop only from restrictive "free from" ranges.
The company has built core technology infrastructure intended to serve users across multiple grocers, and has framed a longer-term product roadmap that includes a browser extension, a mobile app, a food intelligence platform for businesses across the food value chain, and a creator management solution for food content. Management has also identified data integrity as a central technical and market problem, noting that ingredient declaration rules focus on the top 14 allergens and that Precautionary Allergen Labelling can produce conflicting "free from" and "may contain" statements on the same product; FoodLama positions itself as building a system of integrity for such data sources across players in the value chain.
Founding story
Co-founder Santiago Schmitt, who was 18 and still at school at the time of the 2022 interviews, is allergic to nuts and intolerant to corn (his corn intolerance was identified in early childhood through elimination), and grew up in a household with a gluten-free brother and a vegan mother. He says the idea came to him at age 14, prompted by the difficulty of finding suitable products during his family's weekly grocery shop. He connected with co-founder Damilare Ogunleye, who had e-commerce experience including work at Nestlé and whose wife was navigating a fish allergy, through a platform called StartHawk. After roughly a month spent planning how to build the company, they raised angel capital.
Business model
The extension is offered free of charge to consumers. The company has stated it expects to generate revenue from two streams: premium consumer subscriptions and affiliate commissions on product recommendations made on grocer sites. It also describes a longer-term intention to serve food retailers and brands, giving them a way to display products to, and better understand, shoppers with dietary preferences.
Planned monetisation via premium subscriptions and affiliate commissions from product recommendations on grocery retailer sites; the consumer extension was free at the time of the 2022 interviews.
Traction
Beta launched in 2022 starting with ASDA, following a trial roll-out to users; the company reported working alongside major supermarket retailers including ASDA, having spoken with thousands of potential users in interviews and focus groups, and having built infrastructure to support multiple grocers.
Latest developments
As of the 2022 interviews, FoodLama had rolled out its beta with ASDA, secured backing from Google's 2022 Black Founder Fund plus a further £300k from investors, and said it was beginning conversations with investors ahead of a seed round. Roadmap items included a mobile app, a food intelligence platform for food value-chain businesses, and a creator management solution for food content.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
FoodLama characterises the competitive field as two groups: B2B applications that help grocers improve search results without making it easy for shoppers to find personalised products, and direct-to-consumer scanning apps that filter products during in-store shopping but struggle to monetise. FoodLama positions itself as web-focused, layering onto existing online grocery sites and tailoring recommendations to individual users.
An exclusive focus on the online/web grocery journey, operating as an overlay that preserves the shopper's existing supermarket experience while adding personalised suitability indicators and substitution recommendations, plus stated ambitions to build reliable, integrity-checked ingredient and allergen data beyond the 14 regulated allergens.
Technology
A browser (Chrome) extension that overlays online grocery retailer sites, using pre-set household dietary preferences to mark products as suitable or unsuitable as the user scrolls and to surface personalised alternatives and substitutions. Underlying this is core infrastructure built to serve users across multiple grocers, dependent on ingredient and allergen data whose integrity the company describes as its central challenge.
Go-to-market
Early users were acquired through Facebook groups and communities organised around specific allergies, intolerances and dietary niches, with team members building relationships and gathering feedback directly; that process also informed the rebrand to FoodLama at beta launch. The company publishes a weekly blog and newsletter for shoppers with dietary preferences and works with key opinion leaders in the space on branded content. Thousands of potential users were spoken to in interviews and focus groups.
Households shopping for groceries online where at least one member has an allergy, intolerance or dietary preference (for example nut, corn or fish allergy, gluten-free or vegan diets). The company cites 70% of households as containing dietary preferences and 60% of shoppers as having dietary preferences, and points to tens of millions of such online-grocery households across the UK and USA spending upwards of £37bn annually on online groceries. A secondary customer group is food retailers and brands.
Geography
United Kingdom-focused at launch, beginning with ASDA and targeting further major UK online grocers, with stated plans to expand into the United States.
History
The concept began as a simple product-filtering idea showing a green/red indicator alongside products, and evolved over subsequent years into a personalised recommendation product. The company raised a £300k pre-seed from angels in late 2021. It operated under an earlier name and rebranded to FoodLama when it rolled out its beta. In mid-2022 the extension entered a trial phase and then a beta launch, starting with ASDA, with plans to expand to further UK grocers. In 2022 FoodLama was backed by Google as part of the Google Black Founder Fund and reported a further £300k in funding from investors, and said it was about to commence a seed round.
Risks & controversies
The company identifies the integrity of ingredient and allergen data as its biggest operational challenge: statutory labelling rules cover only the top 14 allergens, while Precautionary Allergen Labelling can result in products simultaneously labelled free from an allergen and "may contain" it due to cross-contamination risk, leaving consumers uncertain.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsFoodLama rolled out its browser extension to users for the first time in a trial phase, showing suitability stickers and personalised recommendations as shoppers scroll.
FoodLama was backed by Google as part of its 2022 Black Founder Fund and received another £300k in funding from investors.
FoodLama launched its beta Chrome extension, initially supporting ASDA, alongside a rebrand from its original name; expansion to further UK grocers was planned.
FoodLama raised a £300k pre-seed round from UK and international angel investors, described as including founders who had previously exited to Snap Inc., Twitter and Intel, and a board member of Kraft Heinz.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- Our start-up: FoodLamabusinessage.com · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does FoodLama do?
- FoodLama is a UK browser extension that flags and recommends online grocery products matching a household's dietary preferences.
- Who are FoodLama's investors?
- FoodLama's investors include Microtraction.