FoodCore vs Jelly: Which Recipe & Kitchen Software Is Right for You? (2026)
Jelly and FoodCore are both recipe and kitchen management tools used by small food businesses in the UK. They overlap in some areas but differ significantly in focus, depth and pricing. Here's an honest comparison to help you decide which fits your business.
What each product focuses on
Jelly (also known as Jelly Kitchen) is a recipe management and costing tool with a focus on menu planning and nutritional analysis. It's used by a range of food businesses from small producers to larger catering operations.
FoodCore is built specifically for small UK food businesses that need to manage the full operational workflow: ingredient library with allergen data, recipe management with automatic cost calculation, Natasha's Law compliant label printing, shopping lists and order tracking — all in one place.
Feature comparison
| Feature | FoodCore | Jelly |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recipe cost calculation | ✓ — per batch & per serving | ✓ |
| Allergen tracking (14 allergens) | ✓ — auto from ingredients | ✓ |
| Natasha's Law label printing | ✓ — drag-and-drop designer | ~ — basic label export |
| Allergen matrix (XLSX/PDF) | ✓ | ~ — limited export options |
| Shopping list generation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Order tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Nutritional analysis | ~ — kcal per 100g | ✓ — full macro breakdown |
| HACCP documentation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Designed for small businesses | ✓ | ~ — mixed audience |
Pricing
FoodCore starts from £55/month with published pricing, no setup fees and no minimum contract.
Jelly pricing varies by plan and is not always transparently published. Entry-level plans may be lower, but feature access is often restricted — with Natasha's Law label printing and allergen matrix exports typically requiring higher-tier plans.
Natasha's Law label printing
FoodCore's label designer is a core feature, not an add-on. You can design label templates with drag-and-drop blocks — product name, ingredients list (auto-generated from recipe with allergens in bold), nutrition table, best before, storage, logo — and print to PDF at any standard label size.
Jelly offers some label export functionality, but it is more limited in terms of template customisation and the ability to print directly to standard label sizes. For businesses that need to print labels daily, FoodCore's label designer is more practical.
Shopping lists and order management
FoodCore generates shopping lists from your production plan — consolidating ingredient quantities across multiple recipes and breaking them down by supplier. It also includes order tracking so you can manage customer orders and link them to recipes.
Jelly does not offer shopping list generation or order tracking. It is focused on recipe and menu management rather than the full operational workflow.
Nutritional analysis
Jelly has stronger nutritional analysis features than FoodCore — providing full macro breakdowns (protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, salt) per serving. FoodCore currently shows kcal per 100g from ingredient data.
If detailed nutritional analysis is your primary requirement — for example, if you're selling to retailers who require full nutrition declarations — Jelly may be the better fit for that specific need. For everything else, FoodCore covers more ground.
FoodCore is the better choice for small food businesses that need Natasha's Law label printing, shopping lists, order tracking and allergen management in one tool. Jelly is worth considering if detailed nutritional analysis is a priority and you don't need label printing or order management.
FoodCore is kitchen management software for small UK food businesses — recipe costing, Natasha's Law labels, shopping lists and order tracking.
Get started →