A new Tech Platform, Ingredifind, provides a lifeline to restaurants to support the millions of people with life-threatening food allergies and dietary preferences
Silicon Valley native, Mark White, has teamed up with his father and successful tech veteran Nick White to launch Ingredifind. The platform enables restaurants to create customised digital menus, which allow customers to filter for food allergies, preferences, and personalised diet plans.
A huge selling point of Ingredifind is that it will provide a lifeline for millions worldwide who suffer from food allergies. Furthermore, those with intolerances or dietary preferences will find it easier to enjoy a meal out.
The idea for Ingredifind came from Mark’s experience of watching his girlfriend navigate restaurant menus without triggering her severe allergies. Their dining experience involved scrutinising the menu together and undertaking repetitive discussions with servers to ensure the food would be safe.
He soon discovered this was a pressing issue for a rising number of people and conceived a solution to revolutionise the restaurant dining experience.
Mark’s vision, combined with Nick’s background in helping deliver multi-billion-dollar valuations for tech start-ups, has resulted in a disruptive tech-focused platform.
Research shows that Mark was right to take an innovative approach to address food allergies in restaurants. Researchers estimate that 32 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.6 million children. That’s one in ten adults and one in 13 children. (FARE, 2019)
Mark White said: “Servers and chefs famously work in high-intensity and busy environments. Against the backdrop of an increasingly allergic world, we cannot expect them to be on top of a long list of ingredients to avoid at the drop of a hat.”
Allergies are also the most common chronic disease in Europe. Today, more than 150 million Europeans suffer from chronic allergies. The current prediction is that by 2025, allergies will affect half of Europe’s population. (EAAC. 2016)
Ingredifind is designed to make the dining experience easier for both customers and restaurants. Restaurants simply upload the ingredients of each dish, and Ingredifind will map out which ingredients are components of specific diets and allergy groups. Users can select their allergies on the app and input their diet down to the ingredient level.
Once they select a menu, the platform will display unsuitable dishes in grey and suitable dishes in black.
For example, if a restaurant inputs that their omelette contains eggs, butter, and cheese, Ingredifind will automatically flag that the dish includes eggs and dairy and is unsuitable for vegans. Any customer who has specified that they are vegan or do not want eggs or dairy will see the omelette in grey.
The aim is to make restaurant menus transparent to allow customers to make informed decisions.
The two founders stress that Ingredifind can potentially save lives and avoid litigation against restaurants for making simple mistakes with drastic consequences. Restaurants can be liable for food allergy negligence, with claims ranging from thousands to millions of dollars.
According to a study by Food Allergy Research & Education, claims with diagnoses of anaphylactic food reactions rose 377% from 2007 to 2016. Similarly, British hospitals report soaring anaphylaxis admissions. It’s no longer all about peanuts but a complex array of foods, which makes restaurant menus challenging to navigate for the affected customer.
Mark White said: “Servers and chefs famously work in high-intensity and busy environments. Against the backdrop of an increasingly allergic world, we cannot expect them to be on top of a long list of ingredients to avoid at the drop of a hat.”
Ingredifind has already onboarded and partnered with high-profile restaurants and is growing communities throughout Europe. The company’s message is simple: “By partnering with restaurants we can revolutionise the hospitality sector and make dining out a safe experience for those with allergies and easier for those with dietary preferences.”
