We’re excited to introduce Amy, Co‑Founder of Grow with Iris. In this Q&A she shares her journey, the values and a glimpse into what makes the brand so special for the allergy community.
Hi Amy! Could you share a bit about your background, how the brand came to life and what inspired you and Sophie to start it together?
Grow with Iris was born out of a deeply personal need. When my daughter Iris was diagnosed with numerous life-threatening allergies – dairy, soya, egg, oat, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, and more – I was breastfeeding but terrified about what would happen when I returned to teaching. I searched desperately for a formula that was safe for her allergies and didn’t contain concerning ingredients, but nothing existed that ticked both boxes.
That was my lightbulb moment. I invested my own savings and started working with food scientists to develop something better. Sophie, my school friend of 30 years and a creative director, came on board to create the branding. What started as a favour turned into a shared mission, Sophie has given everything and sacrificed a salary, her own savings and ploughing passion and love into the brand. Ironically, her son Leni was also born with a dairy allergy. She experienced firsthand the frustration and desperation that comes with having an allergy baby, and is now a Grow with Iris customer too!.. Together, we became co-founders and ‘Team Pea’, working alongside paediatricians and dietitians to create a growing-up drink that gives families real choice.
For readers discovering Grow with Iris for the first time, what do you offer and what makes your products stand out?
We’re the UK’s only free from, plant-based and fortified growing-up drink specifically formulated for children aged 12 months to 4 years. Grow with Iris is officially free from the seven most common allergens – milk, egg, soya, gluten, tree nuts, and peanuts and is lactose-free. It’s fortified with 16 vitamins and minerals including calcium, vitamin D and B12, and is a source of fibre and protein.
Unlike ready-made milk alternatives, it’s made without any ‘nasties’ – no emulsifiers, stabilisers, GMOs or palm oil.
What truly sets us apart is that we’re founded by two allergy mums who understand this journey intimately, and we’ve developed our product alongside leading paediatricians and NHS dietitians. We don’t just tick the nutritional and free from boxes – Grow with Iris actually tastes delicious and is a brand that cares. We use a pea protein and coconut blend that children genuinely enjoy.
We’ve won Gold at the Essential Baby Awards 2025 and multiple golds at the Free From Food Awards, but most importantly, we’re creating genuine choice for families who previously had none.
How has your experience as an allergy parent shaped your approach?
Living through the trauma of allergic reactions, endless hospital visits, and the constant vigilance required as an allergy parent has fundamentally shaped everything we do. We both know firsthand what it’s like to juggle expressing milk at work whilst managing sleepless nights and panic attacks, all whilst trying to keep your child safe.
That experience means we lead with empathy and kindness in everything – from how we formulate our product to how we communicate with families. We understand the fear, the exhaustion, and the feeling of being alone in this. It’s why we’ve built relationships with healthcare professionals and our lovely customers. Navigating parenthood is hard enough; navigating it with a child who has multiple allergies can feel overwhelming. We’re here to lighten that load and bring peace of mind.
What core values guide your work and how do you bring them to life through your products and community?
Our core values are empathy, kindness, and inclusivity. We fundamentally believe that every child deserves access to safe, nutritious, delicious food – regardless of their dietary needs.
The formula industry simply isn’t inclusive enough, it’s dominated by dairy dairy dairy! and we’re working to change that. We bring these values to life by always having an open ear, sharing our own experiences, and never forgetting what it felt like when we had no choices. From working with medical advisors to ensure our product meets the highest safety standards, to our rigorous allergen testing protocol, to the way we support our community – everything is rooted in the belief that where food can be a source of anxiety, we want to be a source of joy.
Sustainability is clearly a priority. How does it influence your choices from ingredients to packaging?
We’ve done the work to measure and prove our impact. We’ve undertaken two comprehensive Sustainability Life Cycle Assessments to understand our environmental impacts and set meaningful goals for improvement.
Our fully recyclable pouch has an 84% lower carbon footprint compared to ready-made cartons. Because our product is powder-based and you just add water at home, we’re not unnecessarily transporting water around the country, which significantly reduces emissions.
We’ve also made deliberate choices like removing the plastic scoop – it felt absurd to create something that would be used perhaps 18 times when everyone has a perfectly good tablespoon in their kitchen drawer. Every decision, from sourcing to packaging, is made with both children and the planet in mind, because we’re building a product for the next generation.
You’ve built a strong, engaged community! How do you support families beyond the products and ensure you’re meeting the needs of those navigating allergies?
Community is absolutely at the heart of what we do. We always lead with empathy, keep an open ear, and share our own experiences honestly, trying our best to make families feel seen. We understand that parents of children with allergies often feel isolated and nervous, especially when trying products from new brands.
That’s why we’ve surrounded ourselves with a team of medical and nutrition experts – from Dr Diab Haddad, a paediatric allergy specialist who actually treated Iris, to experienced NHS paediatric dietitians. We make this expertise accessible to our community. We’re also part of the broader allergy community, connected with inspirational figures who are advancing treatments and support networks.
Looking back, what’s been the moment you’re most proud of in your journey so far?
Ultimately developing what was just an idea to a physical product that families love and call a ‘game changer’ feedback like this makes the stress of the business all worthwhile.
Winning Gold at the Essential Baby Awards 2025 and two Golds at the Free From Food Awards felt like incredible validation. Receiving Innovate UK grant funding – Sustainability in Innovation, Women in Innovation, and the Biomedical Catalyst programme – gave us the resources to work with world-class experts and prove that what we were building mattered.
But if I’m truly honest, the moment I’m most proud of is that we’ve navigated this as friends with small kids. Not even raw ingredients getting seized by pirates or Sophie having a baby could stop us from bringing this product to families who desperately needed it. After years of R&D, after I’d left my teaching career, after countless setbacks – we finally gave families real choice. That moment, knowing we’d created something that would genuinely help children like Iris, that’s what I’m most proud of.
Looking ahead, where do you hope to see Grow with Iris in the next few years and what excites you most about the future?
Our ultimate mission is to be the growing-up drink of choice for families of every kind – whether their children have allergies, intolerances, follow plant-based diets, or have climate concerns. We want to bring more choice to more children. We’d also love to get our infant formula over the line as there is a huge gap in what’s available to families who can go down the conventional feeding route.
What excites us is the ripple effect. Every family we help, every child who gets the nutrition they need to thrive, every conversation we have that breaks down the isolation allergy families feel – that’s building towards a more inclusive food system for everyone.
Finally, what’s the key message or takeaway you hope people remember?
The way Grow with Iris makes families feel seen. Every child, regardless of their dietary needs, allergies, or lifestyle choices, deserves access to safe, nutritious, delicious food that helps them grow, thrive, and be “hap-pea.”
If you’re an allergy parent reading this, know that you’re not alone. There is choice, there is hope, and there is a community here supporting you. And for everyone else – please remember that inclusivity in food isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential. When we create products and systems that work for the most vulnerable, we create better options for everyone.
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Grow with Iris and discovering the journey and vision that make the brand so special. To explore their full range of products visit Grow with Iris and use code ALLERGYAID10 for a special discount! 💜 You can also keep up with the latest updates, tips and community stories on Instagram @growwithiris.
