Foodie Guru Program Terms

1. What the Foodie Gurus program is

Foodie Gurus is a recognition and referral program for people who genuinely eat, cook, and explore in the regions Local Foodies covers. Approved Gurus receive a public profile page and a personal referral link that credits the people they introduce to Local Foodies.

The program is operated by Local Foodies. It is not an employment, agency, partnership, or franchise relationship.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, hold a Local Foodies account, and have a genuine connection to the local food scene you write about.

You must be able to comply with the advertising and disclosure rules that apply where you live.

3. Application and approval

Applications are reviewed by a person. We may approve, decline, or ask for more information at our discretion. Approval is not automatic and is not guaranteed by meeting the eligibility criteria.

You must give accurate information in your application. If your details change materially, tell us.

4. Referral-link use

On approval you receive one stable Guru referral code and referral URL. Use only that link and the tracked links generated inside Local Foodies. Do not create your own tracking parameters, redirects, or shortened links that alter how attribution is recorded.

You may share your link on your own channels, in your own words, to people who might genuinely find Local Foodies useful.

5. Required disclosure

Whenever you share a Local Foodies referral link or promote Local Foodies, you must clearly disclose your relationship with Local Foodies in a way your audience will actually see — not buried in a bio or a hashtag block.

You must also disclose sponsored, gifted, hosted, or affiliated content about any business you write about.

6. No misleading claims

Do not make false, exaggerated, or unverifiable claims about Local Foodies, about a business, or about your own experience.

Do not say or imply that Local Foodies endorses, ranks, or certifies a business because of a commercial relationship. Listings are never ranked or featured because of a partner link.

7. No spam

Do not post your referral link in unsolicited email, bulk direct messages, comment spam, paid traffic schemes, coupon or deal-aggregation spam, or anywhere the platform's own rules forbid it.

8. No self-referrals or artificial inflation

Do not refer yourself, use multiple accounts, use automated clicking, incentivise empty signups, or otherwise inflate referral activity.

Attribution generated this way will be removed and may result in suspension.

9. Use of Local Foodies branding

You may say you are an approved Local Foodies Foodie Guru and use the materials we provide. Do not alter our logo, imply you speak for Local Foodies, register confusingly similar names or handles, or run advertising that uses our brand without written permission.

10. Attribution limitations

Referral attribution depends on the visitor's browser and cannot be perfect. A referral is counted once per person: a click is one visitor session, and a signup or waitlist entry is counted once per person.

Attribution can be lost when someone clears storage, switches device or browser, uses private browsing, or arrives through a channel that strips the link. Local Foodies records are the authoritative record of attribution.

11. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or end your participation at any time — for example for a breach of these terms, misleading content, artificial referral activity, or if we discontinue the program.

A suspended Guru keeps their existing records but stops accruing new referral activity, and their public profile is hidden. You can stop participating at any time by contacting us.

12. Content standards

Content you publish about Local Foodies must be your own, lawful, accurate, and free of hate speech, harassment, or material you do not have the rights to use.

You are responsible for the content you post on your own channels.

13. Privacy and data handling

We record referral clicks and attributed signups so we can credit you. Your dashboard shows counts only — never the identity, email address, or personal details of the people you referred.

Do not collect personal information from your audience on behalf of Local Foodies. Our Privacy Policy governs how we handle personal data.

14. No guarantee of earnings

Participation may provide access to referral rewards or future commission opportunities where specifically offered under the program. Approval as a Guru does not by itself guarantee payment.

Being a Guru is currently a recognition program: there is no commission rate, payout schedule, or payment entitlement in place today. If that changes, we will publish the terms of any reward before it applies.

15. Changes to the program

We may update these rules. Material changes will be published on this page with a new version identifier and, where appropriate, notice to approved Gurus. Continuing in the program after a change means you accept the updated rules.

16. Contact

Questions about the Foodie Gurus program: hello@localfoodies.app.