Scots allergy app LiberEat signs up 1,000 restaurants

An Aberdeen-based start-up that has developed an app which filters food and menus by ingredients for allergy sufferers and vegetarians has 1,000 restaurants on its books.

LiberEat was initially developed by founder and managing director Barry Leaper (pictured above) and co-founder Louise Cahill, a registered nurse with complex allergies. She is working within the NHS to utilise the app and its technology to improve patient outcomes, both in hospital and at home.

There are now 800 venues, including Harvester and Miller & Carter eateries, available on the app, which works with Apple and Android devices, with 200 more due to be added over the coming weeks.

Leaper said: “From an early stage, many established restaurants understood the potential of LiberEat and wanted to be a part of it.

“Our research shows that people with dietary requirements are a huge and underserved market. By making their menus more accessible through our app, restaurants attract not just people with allergies or vegans or vegetarians, but all the friends and family they bring with them.”

Cahill added: “We’ve spoken to a huge range of families, people with Coeliac disease and individuals with allergies like nuts and milk – they all say they have their safe restaurants and don’t venture much further. This app lets them explore safely and brings new customers into restaurants.”

The tech start-up is supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s unlocking ambition programme, Business Gateway’s high growth pipeline, The Rowett Institute, Aberdeen University, Robert Gordon University.