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Have You Heard of gr8box, Foods Free of the Top Eight Allergens

April 6, 2016  |  Allergy, Allergy-awareness, Anaphylaxis, Awareness, Blog, Education, Food, Food-allergy, Food-allergy-blog, Recipes, Support
Have You Heard of gr8box, Foods Free of the Top Eight Allergens

by Terri Jordan, Founder & CEO of gr8box

Several years ago I was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, food sensitivities, and food allergy-induced asthma. I am extremely grateful to my close friend for convincing me to get tested for food allergies after she experienced her own struggles with a severe food intolerance; I would have never thought food was the cause of my health issues. By the time I was diagnosed I was very sick and found it extremely difficult to find safe foods to eat. The products I did find were expensive and didn’t taste very good. On a trip to visit my dad we spent three hours in a grocery store trying to find safe foods for me to eat. We literally said, “There has to be a better way.”

That’s when I had the idea for gr8box! As I researched safe manufacturers I knew this information would be useful to so many others. Over time the idea evolved into a subscription box, which is an excellent way to help people try different items each month without investing a lot of money. If subscribers like the items they could decide to add them to their diet all the while adding a little spontaneity back into their lives!

gr8box is a monthly subscription box filled with snacks free of the Top 8 Allergens. These products are also produced in dedicated Top 8 allergen free facilities to give subscribers added peace of mind. We understand how difficult it can be to find safe foods with restrictive diets and hope that by bringing our subscribers new options, we can help add variety to their diets.

Finding brands to include in gr8box hasn’t been easy. We’re kind of picky. While researching manufacturing practices and listening to our food allergy friends, we learned that the food production process can be really scary. Products that are produced on allergen shared equipment and are even produced in the same facilities as allergens have the potential to make someone with a food allergy or intolerance very sick, or even worse. That’s why we decided that we just aren’t going to include them.

All of the products we include in our subscription boxes and online store are Top 8 Allergen Free and produced in dedicated Top 8 Allergen Free Facilities. If a manufacturer doesn’t produce the product in a dedicated Top 8 Allergen Free facility, then they just don’t make the cut. Never take this for granted, however. We want you to continue to always read all labels and decide on your own if each product is right for you. Please keep up those safe habits!

Our story is one of adult onset food allergies and sensitivities, but we’ve made so many wonderful friends that are parents of little ones with dietary restrictions. We've been amazed by the strength, generosity, encouragement, and support of this community. Without their help and that of my amazing family gr8box would simply be another idea we thought about while walking down the same aisles at the same grocery stores.

We have two main goals at gr8box that we would like to share with you: 1) We strive to increase variety in our subscribers' diets through the introduction of new Top 8 allergen free products that are produced in dedicated Top 8 allergen free facilities; and 2) we work to increase sales and distribution for brands that take extra measures to keep us safe in hopes that more products may become available to the allergen free community.

Starting a new company can be extremely difficult and it's so important to have passion behind what drives you. As we approached our launch, we had many fires to put out to ensure all of the products were packaged and shipped on time. When we sent out our test we got just the response we need to keep us going. Our good friend, Adam, posted this tweet showing his son, who has multiple food allergies, enjoying gr8box. I can't express to you the immense feeling of gratitude I felt to be a part of something that has the potential to make others as happy as gr8box made Truman.

Our hope for you and your family is a happy and healthy life sprinkled with safe surprises along the way. Please show your support to the brands that help keep us safe. You can check out our featured products and the April Snack Box at gr8box.com ($19.99 + S&H). Find gr8box on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.