Buyer Policy

FoodFolks is a marketplace where you can order food, drink, and alcoholic beverages made and fulfilled directly by independent sellers. We want every order to be a great experience. This policy explains your rights, and what's expected of you, as a buyer. It forms part of our Terms of Use — by placing an order on FoodFolks, you agree to this policy.

1. Understanding FoodFolks' Role as a Marketplace

By ordering on FoodFolks, you understand that:

1.      You are buying directly from an independent seller, not from FoodFolks;

2.      FoodFolks does not prepare, inspect, or pre-approve any food, drink, or alcohol sold by a seller, and does not guarantee or endorse any listing or shop policy;

3.      Each seller sets their own processing times, delivery/collection methods, and returns policy, published on their shop page;

4.      If you provide your own ingredients, containers, or instructions for a custom or bespoke order, you assume responsibility for the safety and suitability of what you provide.

You can flag a listing or shop that appears to breach FoodFolks policy — including inaccurate allergen information, expired food safety registration, or unlicensed alcohol sales — using the Report tool. Reports are handled confidentially.

2. Communicating with Sellers and Other Members

Use Messages to ask a seller questions about an item, order, or allergen before you buy. Messages must not be used to:

1.      Send unsolicited advertising, spam, or requests for donations;

2.      Harass or abuse another member, or post hateful or discriminatory content;

3.      Contact someone after they have asked you not to;

4.      Interfere with another member's shop or business, including posting public disputes, buying solely to leave a bad review, or contacting a seller's other customers to warn them away;

5.      Arrange payment, delivery, or exchange of personal contact details for the purpose of completing an order off-platform.

Take care when sharing personal information that is not strictly necessary to complete your order (for example, do not share full payment card details over Messages).

3. Purchasing an Item

When you order from a seller on FoodFolks, you confirm that you have:

1.      Read the listing, including the ingredient and allergen information, and the seller's shop policies, before ordering;

2.      Submitted accurate payment via PayPal, Apple Pay, or Stripe as offered at checkout;

3.      Provided an accurate delivery or collection address, and, where the order contains alcohol, accurate confirmation that you are 18 or over;

4.      Made reasonable arrangements to receive time- or temperature-sensitive deliveries promptly.

All orders must be placed and paid for through FoodFolks checkout. Only orders completed through FoodFolks checkout are eligible for the FoodFolks Order Guarantee described in Section 8.

4. Age Verification for Alcohol Purchases

If your order contains alcohol:

1.      You confirm, by placing the order, that you are 18 years of age or over;

2.      The seller or their delivery courier is required to carry out an age verification check (such as Challenge 25) at the point of delivery or collection, and may lawfully refuse to hand over the order, without refund of delivery charges, if the recipient appears under 25 and cannot produce acceptable proof of age (such as a passport, photocard driving licence, or PASS-accredited ID);

3.      Alcohol cannot be delivered to an address if no person aged 18 or over is available to accept it; it will not be left unattended, with a neighbour, or in a safe place;

4.      It is a criminal offence to purchase alcohol on behalf of, or otherwise supply alcohol to, a person under 18 (a “proxy purchase”), and FoodFolks may suspend or close accounts used for this purpose and report suspected offences to the relevant authorities.

5. Food Safety, Allergens and Storage

Sellers are required to list the 14 major allergens regulated under UK food information law for every product, and to provide a full ingredients list on request. However, all items are prepared by independent sellers, some of whom may work in kitchens that also handle other allergens, so FoodFolks cannot guarantee any item is entirely free from cross-contamination. If you have a food allergy or intolerance, message the seller directly before ordering to confirm suitability, and always check the label on arrival.

Perishable items must be stored, refrigerated, or frozen promptly on receipt in accordance with the storage instructions provided by the seller. FoodFolks and sellers are not responsible for spoilage caused by a buyer's delay in collecting a delivery or failure to follow storage instructions after receipt.

6. Leaving a Review

You may leave a rating (one to five stars) and written review, including a photo, for up to 100 days from the confirmed or estimated delivery date. Reviews must not:

1.      Contain graphic, obscene, or hateful content;

2.      Concern matters outside the seller's control, such as a delivery courier or FoodFolks itself;

3.      Be exchanged for payment, discounts, or favours (“shilling”), or otherwise falsely inflate or deflate a shop's rating;

4.      Disclose someone else's private information.

By submitting a review or photo, you confirm you own the content or have permission to use it, and you grant FoodFolks a licence to display it on the Platform, as set out in our Terms of Use. We may remove reviews that breach this policy. Sellers may publicly respond to reviews, subject to the same rules.

7. Creating and Uploading Content

Any content you post on FoodFolks — Messages, reviews, photos — must not:

1.      Contain hateful, discriminatory, or derogatory material;

2.      Contain threats, harassment, or content that facilitates interference with another member's business;

3.      Infringe another person's intellectual property or privacy rights;

4.      Be false, deceptive, or misleading, including false allergen or safety claims;

5.      Contain spam or unsolicited promotions;

6.      Encourage an off-platform transaction;

7.      Sexualise or endanger anyone under the age of 18.

 

Seller Policy

This Seller Policy sets out the standards that apply to every business or individual (“seller”) listing food, drink, or alcohol for sale on FoodFolks. It forms part of our Terms of Use. As a seller, you are the party responsible in law for the safety, description, licensing, and fulfilment of everything you sell.

1. Who Can Sell on FoodFolks

To open a shop on FoodFolks you must:

1.      Be at least 18 years old and legally able to trade in the UK;

2.      Be registered as a food business operator with your local authority at least 28 days before starting to trade, where required by the Food Safety Act 1990 and related regulations;

3.      Hold, or trade under, any premises or personal licence required by the Licensing Act 2003 (or Scottish/Northern Irish equivalent) before listing any alcoholic product;

4.      Provide FoodFolks with your food hygiene rating, food business registration number, and (if applicable) alcohol licence details, and keep these up to date.

2. Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance

As the food business operator, you are responsible for:

1.      Complying with the Food Safety Act 1990, the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (or the equivalent regulations for Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland), and all applicable HACCP-based food safety management requirements;

2.      Complying with the Food Information Regulations 2014 as amended, including full ingredient labelling and clear allergen labelling (bold, highlighted, or underlined) for all 14 legally regulated allergens on every pre-packaged for direct sale (PPDS) item, in line with the requirements commonly known as Natasha's Law;

3.      Accurately stating use-by or best-before dates, storage instructions, and any necessary cooking or preparation instructions;

4.      Immediately withdrawing a listing and notifying FoodFolks and, where required, the Food Standards Agency, if you become aware of a safety issue or recall affecting your product;

5.      Maintaining any food hygiene rating, certificate, or registration required to continue trading, and notifying FoodFolks promptly if it is suspended or revoked.

FoodFolks may request evidence of your food business registration, hygiene rating, and allergen procedures at any time, and may remove listings or suspend shops that cannot demonstrate compliance.

3. Alcohol Licensing and Responsible Sale Requirements

If you list any alcoholic product, you must:

1.      Hold a valid premises licence, personal licence, or other authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003 (or the equivalent Scottish or Northern Irish legislation) permitting the sale of alcohol by retail, and provide FoodFolks with a copy on request;

2.      Ensure that you, or your delivery courier, verify the age of the recipient at the point of delivery or collection using a recognised age-verification check such as Challenge 25, and refuse to hand over the order if the recipient cannot provide acceptable proof of age;

3.      Never leave alcohol unattended, with a third party, or in a safe place if age cannot be verified at handover;

4.      Comply with any conditions attached to your licence, including permitted delivery hours and geographic area;

5.      Not sell alcohol to a person who is drunk, or who you suspect is purchasing on behalf of a person under 18 (proxy purchasing).

Failure to meet these requirements is a serious breach of this policy and may also constitute a criminal offence. FoodFolks will suspend shops that cannot evidence a valid licence and may report suspected unlicensed sales to the relevant Licensing Authority.

4. Listings and Item Descriptions

Listings must accurately describe the item, including its ingredients, allergens, weight or volume, alcohol by volume (ABV) where relevant, and any handmade or small-batch variation buyers should expect. Photographs must represent the actual item offered. You may not list items that are illegal to sell, subject to a product recall, counterfeit, or that you are not licensed or registered to sell.

5. Packaging, Fulfilment and Delivery Standards

You are responsible for:

1.      Packaging food and drink to withstand transit and to maintain any temperature control (chilled or frozen) needed to keep the product safe until delivery;

2.      Dispatching orders within the processing time stated on your shop page;

3.      Using a delivery method appropriate to the item's shelf life and, for alcohol, a courier able to perform age verification at handover;

4.      Clearly communicating delivery and storage instructions to the buyer at the point of dispatch.

6. Payments, Fees and Taxes

Buyers pay you through PayPal, Apple Pay, or Stripe via FoodFolks checkout. FoodFolks deducts its marketplace fee (as set out in your seller dashboard) before remitting the balance to your connected payment account. You are solely responsible for determining, charging, and accounting for VAT, alcohol duty, and any other applicable tax on your sales, and for your own tax filings.

7. Cancellations, Returns and Refunds

You must publish a clear shop policy on cancellations and returns. You are not required to accept returns of correctly supplied, non-faulty perishable goods once dispatched, but you must issue a refund where FoodFolks determines, through the Resolution Centre, that an order was not delivered, arrived damaged or spoiled due to your packaging or handling, was materially different from its listing, or involved an undisclosed allergen. You remain separately liable to buyers who are consumers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for goods that are faulty, unsafe, or not as described.

8. Prohibited Seller Conduct

You must not:

1.      Misrepresent allergen content, ingredients, or the authenticity of a product;

2.      Sell alcohol without a valid licence, or to a person under 18;

3.      Encourage buyers to transact off-platform to avoid fees;

4.      Manipulate reviews, including offering incentives for positive reviews;

5.      List an item subject to a food safety recall or notice.

9. Liability and Indemnification

You are liable for any loss, illness, or injury arising from a defect, mislabelling, or unlicensed sale of your product, and you agree to indemnify FoodFolks against claims, fines, or costs arising from your breach of this policy or of applicable food safety or licensing law, except to the extent caused by FoodFolks' own negligence.

10. Suspension and Termination

FoodFolks may suspend or close your shop, with or without notice, for breach of this policy, expiry or suspension of a required licence or registration, a pattern of substantiated buyer complaints, or where required by law or a regulator. You may close your own shop at any time, subject to fulfilling outstanding orders.