Have you ever been to a party and rushed over to stop someone feeding your food allergic child?
Sarah Collins had and that’s how she came up with the idea for Allergy Buddies, personalised allergy alert products.
“We went to a Christmas Party and there was of course chocolate around. Next thing I notice my son eating some. He was too little to unwrap it himself so I asked him where it had come from. It was then an adult said ‘I gave it to him’. I was mortified. So I started looking for allergy alert products and couldn’t find any that suited his range of allergies.”
So she decided to create some herself.
Fun and appealing allergy alerts
“I knew exactly what I wanted in regards to the buddies and the brand. I spent a lot of time researching illustrators and found Howdy Doodle who were perfect. They take what is in my head and bring it to life.”
The illustrations are perfect for children and deliver an important message in a fun and appealing way. There are a range of products from keyrings, bracelets and bibs to bags and sweatshirts.
J has his ‘epipen in bag’ keyring attached to the change bag that he takes to the childminder and the bib we tried out is perfect for him to pop on at toddler groups or parties as a visual reminder.
It is also possible to have personalised products that display your individual child’s needs and they have proved very popular.
“I never dreamed the response to Allergy Buddies would be so fantastic. I am very proud of what I have achieved and love getting messages from parents saying they now feel more reassured knowing their child has a form of allergy alert. I created the buddies exactly for this purpose.”
Allergy awareness
Sarah hopes that in the future she can use Allergy Buddies to help raise much needed awareness around the subject
“I want Allergy Buddies to continue to grow to be able to keep adding new products to the brand. I also want to see it grow into a support and advice system to schools, nurseries and play groups etc. Education is key to allergy awareness.”
Visit www.allergybuddies.co.uk for more information and products.
[Disclosure: We were sent a free bib and keyring for the purpose of this article]
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