Ready, Set, Food! has raised $2.2M in total. We talk with Daniel Zakowski, its CEO and co-founder.
PetaCrunch: How would you describe Ready, Set, Food! in a single tweet?
Daniel Zakowski: Ready, Set, Food! makes it easy to prevent 80% of food allergies.
PC: How did it all start and why?
DZ: Dr. Andrew Leitner and I launched the company in May 2018 after over a year of prior research and development. We were inspired by Dr. Leitner’s son and my nephew, Abe, who suffered an extreme allergic reaction to peanuts around seven months of age, and after testing, learned that he was also allergic to eggs and dairy. Dr. Leitner and his wife were aware of the need to introduce allergens early to Abe, but they did not know that the clinical studies advised introducing these allergens as early as four months of age, well before Abe was able to eat solid foods. This ignited a passion to turn Abe’s struggle into a mission to help families prevent food allergies before they start by creating a solution that allows parents to introduce these common allergens while a baby is still breast or bottle feeding.
PC: What have you achieved so far?
DZ: Ready, Set, Food! has secured the support of over 300 pediatricians and allergists who recommend the system in their practices, and given over 6,000 families the best chance at an allergy-free future.
PC: How will you use your recent funding round?
DZ: Ready, Set, Food! is committed to using its recent funding to continue giving all babies the gift of food freedom. Along with growing awareness and education to consumers around the science of early allergen introduction, the company aims to expand its corporate wellness program, which allows family-minded companies like Snap and Sequoia to provide Ready, Set, Food! to working parents as an employee benefit. Additionally, this funding will allow them to accelerate their strategic partnerships, particularly with their pilot program with Blue Shield to offer Ready, Set, Food! as an insurance reimbursement.
PC: What do you plan to achieve in the next 2-3 years?
DZ: In addition to advancing our strategic partnerships, we’re working on our innovation pipeline to introduce a new product launching later this year with the top 10 allergens. While peanut, egg, and milk comprise 80% of childhood food allergies, our new product with 10 allergens will cover 90% of childhood food allergies. This will help us further our goal of helping to give more children food freedom.
