A new app has been launched to help consumers manage food intolerances whilst shopping.
FoodAdvisr, which is free to download to Android and Apple smartphone users, was designed with the approximate 13 million Brits in mind who suffer from food allergies and intolerances. The app helps shoppers to manage food choices, find products they like, avoid ingredients their bodies can’t tolerate, plan meals, discover cooking techniques and examine restaurant menus in closer detail, as well as create, save and share shopping lists with other users.
In store, under the ‘Shop’ function of the app, users can match up their food needs to their grocery choices and ‘instantly make sense of complex information on food products’. When key words such as ‘bread’ or ‘pizza’ are entered, the app will show all food products in those categories which match their personal settings; a helpful tool for consumers wishing to discover new products which align with their particular dietary restrictions. Also working in the reverse, when a customer picks an unfamiliar item off the shelf, the app allows them to scan its barcode and check it meets their requirements.
There is currently very little help available to the consumer to simply match their needs to the food they’re buying
At present, much of the data stored within the app covers leading consumer products sold in supermarkets, but natural, free-from and non-GMO brands familiar to independent health food retailers are also listed, including Eat Natural, Amy’s Kitchen, Mighty Bee, Alpro, Quorn and Nairn’s.
With more than one in five Brits living with confirmed or suspected food intolerances, Kieran Lees, co-founder and CEO of Advisr Technologies, says the app is helping consumers make informed choices. “Our vision is simple: to give people the ability to make accurate, informed choices about their food, based on their personal needs, preferences or lifestyle. The awareness of food-related health issues – including allergies, intolerances, diabetes, obesity and many other medical conditions – is rising dramatically. Legislation is helping to ensure that food operators provide information, but there is currently very little help available to the consumer to simply match their needs to the food they’re buying. FoodAdvisr automates this, providing a simple to use, very powerful and accurate way for people to match to make informed choices,” he comments.
