Shop from quality brands
El Toco brings trusted independent UK brands together in one place.
Every brand in our catalogue is handpicked, letting you shop with complete peace of mind.
Start finding
How it works
1
We find the brands.
We search high and low for the best independent brands in the UK.
2
We select their products.
Our catalogue is a carefully curated selection of products from our chosen brands.
3
You shop.
You buy directly from the brands we list. No markups, no faff.
We really do *find* the brands
We head to events up and down the country to meet the UK's most exciting smaller businesses and try their products.
Many brands are listed on El Toco because we have tried, bought, and re-bought their products. We love them and we're sure you will too.
Our story
El Toco's catalogue is crawled and curated by us, independent of any other search engine.
This is the best way to ensure the brands we list can be trusted.
Making an independent search index is not for the faint-hearted! Here's how we did it:
Aug 2016 - Founded
El Toco is founded with the aim of making a more precise search engine.
Nov 2018 - First prototype
We launch our first prototype and test it with our first users.
Jul 2020 - Algorithm completed
With the help of the University of Greenwich and a team of over 40 contractors, El Toco's main search algorithm is finished.
Apr 2022 - Second prototype
Our user-facing search website is connected to our crawlers in the cloud.
Aug 2022 - Shopping focus
We secure our first round of fundraising and decide to focus on shopping search.
Aug 2023 - Dental
The minimum viable product goes live for the public, focused on shopping searches for dental equipment.
Aug 2025 - Food & fashion
The first direct-to-consumer categories are added to our catalogue: food and fashion.
Aug 2026 - Jewellery, homewares & hobbies
Our coverage expands to new e-commerce areas.
Team
Thomas Chopping
Founder
Before El Toco, Thomas was a quantitative analyst in the asset management sector, contributing to investment strategy for portfolios of >$1 billion in size. He studied economics, finance and data science at the University of Essex (UK) and Spanish at Universidad EAFIT (Colombia).
A big thanks to the many, many independent contributors who have helped with El Toco over the years.