Our People

Allergy mums Amy & Sophie created Grow with Iris so more families would be able to choose a growing up drink that’s delicious, nutritious, easy-to-use and easy on the planet.

Our founders Our advisors Our community

Our founders

Our founders, Amy & Sophie

Amy, co-founder and Iris’ mum

Amy, Mum to Iris & Winston, lives with her partner and hypo-allergenic, doodle dog Barney. Before Grow with Iris, Amy taught art for 18 years to kids aged 4-18. In a previous life she also worked in the Art department for TV & Films.

Becoming an allergy Mum and her love of small people has inspired the next chapter in her life, co-founding Grow with Iris. She is determined to help families just like hers by offering more choice when it comes to safe nutrition for their families. Building the Grow with Iris family through common ground and by spreading joy so more kids can grow, thrive and be… hap-pea!
Sophie, co-founder and mum to an allergy toddler

Sophie, Mum to toddler Leni (who has a dairy allergy and enjoys Grow with Iris every day!), lives with her family in South East London. Before co-founding Grow with Iris, she worked in branding as a designer and creative director for over 20 years.

Sophie initially joined Grow with Iris to create our branding and packaging. Compelled by Amy's story, she never left! More than a designer, Sophie is the ‘behind the scenes’ brain and strategy at Pea HQ – making sure everything works seamlessly for all our lovely customers.

Our expert advisors

They say it takes a village to raise a child… Meet the team of health, medical and sustainability advisors committed to making sure every mouthful of Grow with Iris is delicious, nutritious, safe and planet-friendly as possible…

Dr Diab Haddad

Allergy Paediatrician

Dr Haddad has been working with us since 2020 after he treated Iris for her allergies. He has gone on to help Sophie's son, Leni.

Diab has years of clinical experience, having previously led the Respiratory and Allergic disorders services at St Peter’s NHS Hospital in Surrey for 20 years. He's also held an honorary consultant status at the Royal Brompton Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital in London.

He is also involved in research and teaching, and has authored several publications, including several chapters and edited a textbook in Paediatrics.

Combining general paediatric experience with special interest in allergies and respiratory disorders, he is able to provide great advice as a ‘critical friend’ and advisor to Grow with Iris, focussing on the wellbeing and multiple health needs for the groups of vulnerable babies and young children.
Matt Fishwick

Sustainability Expert

Matt is an environmental chemist and specialist consultant offering deep technical expertise in life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental product declarations, and product, organisational and supply chain environmental foot printing. His project experience of 15+ years spans a wide range of sectors including, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction, and food. Past clients include eBay, 3M, Honeywell, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, and PepsiCo.

He has PhD, MRes, MSc and BSc degrees in environmental chemistry and is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC).

Matt has worked closely with Sophie and Amy over the last few years to assess the environmental impact of Grow with Iris, he also helps them work on their sustainability goals for the business.
Sarah Foster

Paediatric Dietitian

Sarah Foster is a paediatric specialist dietitian with over 25 years clinical experience in both the NHS and the freelance field. Areas of particular interest and expertise include food allergy and intolerance in infants and children.

Iris was under Sarah’s care following her diagnosis and has supported Amy as both a parent and a founder. Sarah has advised us with the Grow with Iris formulation and claims since we began developing it seven years ago!
Breeda Cotter BSc Dairy and Food Science

Our food scientist and microbiology expert

An accomplished food industry professional, Breeda has 30 years of experience in product development, scale up and commercialisation of Innovative ingredients. Having worked as a food scientist and dairy technologist Breeda has worked on projects to understand ‘greener proteins’ and developed innovative products for Organic Dairy farms. Breeda has since pivoted towards the world of Free-From and lectures Science, Hygiene and Safety to large manufacturing organisations and colleges.

Breeda has been a vital part of Grow with Iris’ development, working to ensure our product is safe, legal and tested to the highest standards, working with our manufacturer to maintain the highest form of quality control.