From an iPhone app to a Facebook application to other platforms, Foodie.fm has made it even easier to start using their service. Now users can try the application directly on Foodie's website without registration. If they decide to create an account, though, it would still take less than 2 min. Today Foodie is coming out with an improved version of their social capabilities. The most important enhancements are a revamped recommendations engine (now better tailored to users' dietary needs and restrictions), more detailed information about products and discovery of new content from friends through a newsfeed.

Foodie's application has two main aspects: it recommends recipes and it suggests groceries you might want to buy in connection to those recipes or otherwise. Connecting recipes with actual products is the key component of the service that sets it apart from other recipe-recommendation websites. It connects online environment to physical products creating a wholistic experience. For instance, in Finland Foodie has partnered with the S-group, which means the groceries they recommend can be linked directly to products in local stores.

The new update means the service can now be easily adjusted to as many food preferences as you might have. For instance, if you prefer fair trade or organic products, you can click the appropriate button and those products would be prioritized in your grocery recommendations. If you are lactose intolerant, you can tick an appropriate box and you would be warned of lactose content in recipes and products. This personalization works in recommendations as well as in search results.

If users connect to their family members on Foodie.fm, they can easily plan cooking and grocery shopping together since the application is synced across platforms. In other words, if your spouse suggests a recipe or creates a shopping list, you can access it in real-time and adjust your grocery shopping accordingly. A handy feature especially when planning big celebrations or dinner parties.

What is more, Foodie.fm is planning to launch their service in UK later this year. The main reason for choosing that market for expansion is that it has the world's most advanced grocery infrastructure. According to Kalle Koutajoki, Foodie.fm's CEO and co-founder, online shopping for groceries has been active in the UK since 1996 when Tesco opened their first robust online store for groceries. Now the biggest market growth for grocery retailers comes from online. Having a well-established infrastructure like that creates unique opportunities for a service like Foodie.fm.

As Kalle explains: 'Big retailers in UK have a website where you can order groceries but have very little personalization and no mechanism to find ideas from your friends. For example, if you are vegetarian or on a gluten-free diet, you have 60 000 products to choose from. With Foodie.fm we offer individualization based on preferences and history but we also build a community for like-minded people. It's a Facebook for groceries'.

Below are screenshots of Foodie.fm's frontpage.

Recipes recommendations:

Grocery list: