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Developing an allergy detection app for grocery shopping. Should I continue?

Hi guys,

My 6 yr old daughter has been recently diagnosed with peach and various other allergies. My dad is a retired professor who now spends his days growing peaches and apples. His greatest joy has been sharing them with us. My twins loved eating them, until a few months ago when my daughter started developing red spots and hives around her lips.

Since my wife often orders fresh foods and meal kits online (Amazon Grocery, HelloFresh, Whole Foods, etc.), I thought it might be useful to create an app that could:
A) Check the ingredients of foods or meal kits while shopping
B) Alert users based on their dietary restrictions, rating each item from Level 1 (safe) to Level 5 (dangerous), along with detailed information about potential allergens.

Development has been going fairly well, but it’s a lot of work for me, especially since I already have a full-time job. At this point, I’m not sure if the app would truly be useful. It’s still in progress and may take another 1–2 months to finish, since I can only work on weekends. Recently, I realized that we tend to buy the same foods repeatedly, so we’re already familiar with the ingredients and allergy information. I keep thinking that, even if it’s not essential for us, the app could still help others—but I’m really not sure whether it would be worthwhile.

Do you think I should continue?

  1. Hi Erin,

    Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice. Making a profit isn’t my goal right now—I just want to build something that can help both myself and others. At some point, the app may need to generate revenue to remain sustainable, but I don’t think it’s at that stage yet.

    Thanks again for your kind response!

    1. Hi, !

      I think the app sounds like a great idea! That said, I can't say for certain how lucrative the app would be, but I bet it could definitely be helpful for millions of people with food allergies or sensitivities. But, I understand that finding investors or doing crowdfunding can be very challenging and time consuming.

      I wish you the best of luck as you proceed in this endeavour!

      Best, Erin, Team Member.

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