Our founders
Our founders, Amy & Sophie
Mum Amy and longtime friend Sophie created Grow with Iris so all growing families – whatever their dietary needs – would be able to choose a growing up drink that’s delicious, nutritious, easy-to-use and easy on the planet.
Our founders, Amy & Sophie
Amy, Mum to Iris & Winston lives with her partner and hypo-allergenic, doodle dog Barney. Amy has been teaching Art for 18 years to kids aged 4-18 and in a previous life 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, 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 a community of pea-ple through common ground and by spreading joy so more kids can...
Play. Be happy… & Grow with Iris!
Sophie, new Mum to baby Leni and cat Mama to Gary and Howard, lives with her partner in London. She has worked as a designer and creative director for over 20 years, working on campaigns for big brands such as Puma and ‘This Girl Can’.
Sophie came on board to support Amy with the Grow with Iris branding and packaging. Compelled by the story, she never left and naturally became Amy’s co-founder and partner in pea. Sophie is the ‘behind the scenes’ brain and mechanics. Her hilarious sense of humour, attention to detail and determination to keep going, has driven our brand making her the perfect match to Amy, together they are ‘Dream Team Pea’
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…
Our Allergy & Respiratory Paediatric Specialist
Dr Haddad has been working with Plant Powered Babies since 2020 after he treated Iris for her allergies. He 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 and is also involved in research and teaching.
Having held an honorary consultant status at the Royal Brompton Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital in London. He 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.
Our nutritional children’s dietitian
Lucy Upton, ‘The Children’s Dietitian’ is a leading UK Paediatric Dietitian, with 12 years experience embedded in the NHS and Private Practice. She is passionate about championing the nutritional health of babies and children of all ages.
‘Parents need more practical advice and genuine support when it comes to their child's feeding challenges. Food is fundamental for life, but it can also be a huge part of your happiness and wellbeing’.
Lucy has supported Grow with Iris to ensure we gain the right balance between taste and quality nutrition. We love how her advice is fueled by kindness and without judgement. We think families deserve to choose safe, fortified alternatives without compromising on fun or taste. Lucy has guided and supported us to be able to achieve this.
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.
Iris' NHS Paediatric Dietitian
Sarah Foster is a paediatric specialist dietitian with over 25 years clinical experience in both the NHS and 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, advising us with the formulation nutrition and recipe.
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.
Parenting is hard, especially if dairy doesn’t work for you. Where food can be a source of anxiety, we want to be a source of joy.