An online grocery platform that claims to shorten the weekly shop has opened for public use.
Lollipop, which is based in London, lets customers select recipes and automatically fills their baskets with the ingredients.
The goods are then delivered by Sainsbury’s, from whom the startup takes a small commission.
Founder Tom Foster-Carter plans to increase the available retailers, naming Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado as potential partners in a TechCrunch interview.
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If successful, Lollipop could allow grocers to compete with meal kit companies like HelloFresh and Gousto, which have recently gained momentum and made record profits.
The platform’s level of investment is unclear, though a pre-seed round has been backed by the Innocent Drinks-owned JamJar Investments and Ian Marsh, HelloFresh UK’s ex-general manager.
Lollipop aims to cut down how long shoppers spend planning their meals, claiming 40 per cent of families take over two hours per week.
Foster-Carter, who resigned as chief information officer of Monzo in 2019, said he realised how much time he spent in the supermarket after having a baby.
Announcing his departure from the internet bank to The Times, he revealed he was developing technology to “help the incumbents” in a supermarket price war.
