7A – Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

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Issue:
10% of the U.S. population has food allergies and many restaurants do not have an allergy menu that allows that portion of the population to consider restaurant menus in a safe and convenient manner.

Who, What, Why:
Who: (1) Individuals w/ food allergies (2) Restaurants w/o exhaustive allergy menus
What: (1) Cannot identify safe/desirable places to eat (2) Miss out on/don’t fully exploit a large potential market
Why: (1) Individuals w/ food allergies do not have the means to lobby for all restaurants to have an exhaustive allergy menu (2) Restaurants are unaware of the importance of allergy menus or are unsure how to create an easy-to-use allergy menu

Fleshing out the WWW’s Further:
Who: (1) Parents of young children with food allergies (2) Public school systems
What: (1) Cannot identify safe places for their young children to eat (2) Cannot maintain the safety of children with food allergies
Why: (1) Lack of allergy menus (2) Are unaware that allergy menus (for school lunch) may be necessary to be truly inclusive of all children

Interviews:
1. I first conducted an interview with the owner of Bleubird Wings in Gainesville and learned that:
·       Bleubird does not have an allergy menu.
·       Customers may ask questions about food allergies between 3-5 times a week.
·       The owner was not certain if customers had ever left due to food allergies
·       The owner had never considered using an allergy menu and is not sure if it would be helpful to the business
2. I interviewed the owner of PDQ in Gainesville and learned that:
·       PDQ has an allergy menu.
·       Customers ask about allergens about 7-10 times a week.
·       The owner believes PDQ effectively accommodates for individuals w/ food allergies
3. I interviewed the manager at Miami Grill and learned that:
·       Miami Grill does not have an allergy menu
·       Customers ask about allergies between 3-5 times a week
·       Customers occasionally are forced to find other restaurants due to food allergies
4. I next interviewed an individual with food allergies and learned that:
·       They have severe food allergies
·       They often use allergy menus to determine where they will eat/what they will order
·       Are inclined to not visit/return to a restaurant w/o an allergy menu
·       Feel excluded when they cannot eat at a restaurant\
5. I then interviewed a second individual with food allergies:
·       They do not have severe food allergies
·       They use allergy menus to determine where they will eat/what they will order fairly often
·       Are inclined to not visit/return to a restaurant w/o an allergy menu

What did I learn?
            I learned that the experiences of many individuals with food allergies mirrors my expectations. However, this knowledge has led me to consider if it is better to go the route of creating allergy menus for restaurant business or creating a website/app/other means directly solving the problems/easing the pain of those with food allergies.

Comments

  1. PrincessKSeptember 21, 2019 at 12:55 PM

    Hi Johnathan! Thanks for sharing your post on food allergies. I can relate to this post significantly because I myself have a food allergy and it can be hard depicting what foods are available for me to eat. Thanks for sharing your research and the problem associated with people like myself with food allergies. This change could help so many individuals depict what they can and can not eat without feeling left out when going out with others. Thanks, Kaitlin

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  2. Nicholas A. LaheraSeptember 22, 2019 at 11:34 AM

    Hi Johnathan,

    The only downside I see for this is effectively promoting allergy menus to restaurants when, like you said, only 10% of the US population has food allergies. One of the major things that needs to be considered, is how to restaurants ensure they are not catering to an audience that will not purchase enough to make a profit. For example, if a restaurant ordered 50 units for their allergy menu, but only 20 people order that food, they are at a loss. I do not think its impossible, but it definitely needs to be considered if the business-to-business aspect is what you are looking for. Another area of caution is the severity of food allergies. I don't have one, but I know someone who cannot come to an event I am hosting at a seafood restaurant. We will have pulled pork at the event which she can have, but she can't get anywhere near shrimp. I don't know the full extent of it, but that was my understanding. Beyond that, I think that the idea has a lot of potential for growth. Find a way to sell to businesses or even that portion of the population and I can see easy development.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Remi TaylorSeptember 22, 2019 at 1:25 PM

    Hi there Johnathan! You did a really great job here. I think there is a big opportunity for restuarants to add allergy menu's. It is such an issue that not all restaurants have that. It makes them less accommodating and also makes it so that they might lose potential customers in the future. Adding these menu's would definitely help a lot of people out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brooke DesantisSeptember 22, 2019 at 7:37 PM

    Hi Jonathan,
    I think your hypothesis is great, I loved the idea of making a more readily available menu to those with dietary restrictions. Growing up watching my cousin struggle with major food allergies and having a difficult time whenever we went out to eat I think this is a great idea!! Most employees never know the specifics of what is in each prepared dish so this would cut down on a lot the confusion and overall questions asked.

    ReplyDelete

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