Innovation

Children and adults with life-threatening food allergies spend almost a year of their lives reading the labels on the back of food packaging, to ensure that what they eat will be safe for their consumption. Since one in ten adults have food allergies, Every Body Eat’s goal is to give these people that year of their life back, creating snack products that are flavorful, healthy, and guaranteed to be free of the top 14 allergens. More than 90% of food allergies and intolerances are associated with these 14 ingredients. Every Body Eat snacks are also Non-GMO, Plant-based, Vegan, and Kosher.

On top of being clean, Every Body Eat also prides itself on having a crave-able and unique array of household snacks. Not only are their products delicious, but they are also shareable! “Our goal really is to make a space for folks who have dietary restrictions and those who don’t to want to eat out of the same bag. Our company’s mission is to give everybody a seat at the table, and we mean that literally. You don’t really bond at the table unless you stay - and you don’t stay unless the food is good,” says Co-founder and President Nichole Wilson.

Future plans for the business center around expanding and diversifying their product portfolio. They want to make snacks and foods for every meal, products to hit every occasion, so their customers have allergen-free options for any time of day. They’re working on breakfast crispbreads, crackers, dips, dressings, and almost 50 recipes in Research & Development. “We want to move from snacks to center of plate, and make sure we’re hitting each and every eating occasion because that’s what our consumers are telling us.”

Inspiration

Every Body Eat found its start when serial entrepreneur Trish Thomas and snack food industry expert Nichole Wilson met at their childrens' school. Thomas had discovered that she had an autoimmune disease that made it difficult for her to eat corn, dairy, and gluten, and Wilson's family was lactose intolerant and sensitive to eggs, shellfish, and gluten. They quickly bonded over their experiences managing food allergies.

“When I met Trish Thomas, my amazing Co-Founder,” Wilson says, “we started talking about a company. She said, ‘Look, I run a few companies, I never plan on starting another, unless it’s one that can find me something to eat.’”

After working for eight years at a large snack company, and raising a family going through similar struggles with allergies, Wilson had the experience both personally and in the industry to know where to start. They initially turned to Wilson's employer for investment; while they loved the idea, they only wanted to remove two or three allergens, instead of all fourteen. “So we looked at each other and said, we’re gonna have to build this thing on our own. And by George, we’ve done it.”

Through their life experiences in business and the food industry, and their struggles at home with allergies, Thomas and Wilson were inspired to start a snack company dedicated to making delicious foods that anyone and everyone can eat.

Overall impact

Every three minutes, a food allergy sends someone to the ER. The number of cases and people affected by food allergies only continues to rise around the globe. Every Body Eat's innovation allows its customers to purchase their snacks without fear of life-threatening allergies — no need to look at the label. Their snacks are free of the top 14 allergens: cereal containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulfites, lupin, and mollusks. Their allergen-free standard provides people with allergies with a trusted, safe set of foods. Because of food allergies or dietary restrictions, “families are often required to shop for different groceries, prepare various meals, and social gatherings can be challenging”; however, Every Body Eat has introduced a way for everyone to communally enjoy the food at a table.

Business benefit

Wilson and Thomas went into their business plan knowing exactly what kind of team they wanted to build. After hiring and training employees, they have successfully created a work environment that fosters teamwork, problem-solving, and equality. Wilson explains how every employee, no matter what department they are working in, is an equal contributor in helping to reduce inequality amongst people with allergies. She hopes to inspire coworkers to see themselves as future leaders of the company. Each member of the Every Body Eat team is considered a “student of craft” - or in other words, an innovator. In terms of the hiring process, Every Body Eat would consider themselves as “background friendly.” By putting less emphasis on an interviewee’s past, Wilson and Thomas are able to focus on the unbiased potential of a future employee. In envisioning their company, they sought out a diverse and inclusive team.

Nonetheless, the team shares one mission: to enhance the lives of people with allergies. In fact, many of the employees enjoy the snacks they create because they share dietary restrictions.

Social and environmental benefit

Every Body Eat has a unique business model in that the product they offer carves out a new section of the highly competitive snack foods market for clean, allergen free foods. While lots of companies stock products free of certain allergens, few do what Every Body Eat does - dedicating their product lineup to foods that contain almost none at all, and they’re working continually to eliminate more potential allergens from their products.

Every Body Eat's business model addresses the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities by bringing more equality to the table. By intentionally catering towards people with allergies and dietary restrictions, they reduce the inequality between those with and without allergies.

Every Body Eat introduces more competition in the snack market among companies that allergen free snacks, and against the larger, well-known snack brands. By creating allergen-free foods to compete with the flavor and product diversity of the rest of the food snacks industry, they are adding competition to the market and sending out a call to action for larger food companies to recognize and address consumers with allergies. Moreover, consumers can rely on sustainably- sourced and cultivated ingredients which not only benefit the individual but also the environment.

Interview

Nichole Wilson, Co-Founder/President