Danone, Mark Cuban and AF Ventures back food allergy prevention start-up Ready, Set, Food!

  • 20 July 2020
  • Supplements
Ready, Set, Food! develops daily supplements that gently introduce babies to peanut, egg, and milk, the three most common childhood food allergens
Ready Set, Food! allergy introduction supplements

Ready, Set, Food!, a California-based start-up, has raised $3 million in a second funding round led by Danone Manifesto Ventures, investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and AF Ventures, formerly AccelFoods. 

The start-up was founded in 2017 by Andy Leitner and Daniel Zakowski to provide an evidence-based solution that makes it easy for parents to protect their babies from common food allergies. The company offers daily supplements that gently introduce babies to peanut, egg, and milk, the three most common childhood food allergens.

Ready, Set, Food! is advised by allergy experts Dr Jonathan Spergel and Dr Gary Rachelefsky, the past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. 

“We founded Ready, Set, Food! to educate and bring awareness to parents everywhere that through early allergen introduction, we could significantly reduce the risk of developing food allergies,” said chief executive Zakowski. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Danone Manifesto Ventures and Mark Cuban to bring critically needed attention to food allergies.”

Through the new funding round, Ready, Set, Food! furthers its commitment to preventing severe food allergies and ensuring all families have an opportunity for a healthier future.  

“Health starts from the early days of life and as a result, we are excited to partner with Ready, Set, Food! and join them on their mission to reduce food allergies through the early introduction of simple, high-quality food allergens,” said Laurent Marcel, chief executive of Danone Manifesto Ventures. “We look forward to working closely with them – alongside Mark Cuban and other investors – to advance their important vision and help enhance the health of future generations.”

Ready, Set, Food! claims data demonstrate that its system can help reduce the risk of developing food allergies by up to 80%. 

“I am proud to increase my prior investment from Shark Tank in Ready, Set, Food! to help with the fight against food allergies,” said Cuban. “As a parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy, I know first-hand the impact it has on families across the country. Together, with Ready, Set, Food! we will work on making sure every parent knows about early allergen introduction and has the ability to protect their children from food allergies.”

Food allergy introduction system

To support its innovative business model, Ready, Set, Food! continues to enhance and innovate its product portfolio. 

Building on the currently available formulations, Ready, Set, Food! recently launched new Peanut Only and Peanut + Egg early allergen introduction systems to provide parents with more options to fit their family’s needs. 

The Peanut Only system benefits families who have children with existing, diagnosed milk and egg allergies and the Peanut + Egg system benefits families who have children with an existing, diagnosed milk allergy. 

Ready, Set, Food! has also launched a donation programme to assist families who have lost their income due to the coronavirus crisis by providing products to help prevent their babies from developing severe food allergies. Additional information about the donation programme is available at readysetfood.com/givingback.