Uni project - feedback required on my idea

[CraigMiles1991]

Hi Everyone, hope you are all okay. Please take the time to read this as i need it for some research for my University Project.

I'm 18 and have had Crohns for 3 years and have really suffered this year at University, and now i have a project to come up with an innovative idea which i have to present to a panel of "dragons" (BASICALLY DRAGONS DEN!)

My idea is a website (to be called foodcompare.com) for sufferers of Crohns, IBS, Colitis and any other people with food intolerances. My idea is to provide a search facility where users can search for any type of food they can eat or want (for example, i can't have wheat so wheat-free pasta) which then brings up results of all wheat free pasta on the market, whether its from a supermarket chain or the internet, which gives nutritional information, price but more importantly, where to find these products!

It will be free to sign upto, only a profile is needed (similar to this website) and off you go!

Please any feedback is greatly appreciated as all my plans have had the go-ahead and im trying to secure funding from the "dragons" in a few weeks

Thanks so much for reading! Craig

 

[thefreeaccount]

Bloomberg for food? It sounds truly wonderful, but the problem is to collect all that data and keep it updated, you'd basically have to be Michael Bloomberg (ie, have lots of industry/government connections and a very persuasive personality). Developing a time-sensitive information exchange is really a problem of cooperation first and a technical issue second. You can rely on user-generated content for stuff that is not time sensitive, but new food products are being developed and old ones discontinued all the time.

If such a site existed, it would be popular not just with Crohnies but really anyone with an interest or business in food. Ie, 'Where can I get the cheapest sun-dried tomatoes grown in Israel...'

 

[mussen]

hi craig,
Sounds like a great idea!!
I am gluten and dairy free, and get tired of reading the labels of everything I buy, anything that makes it a bit easier would be great!!
It would also be good for finding what other products are out there beside what your local supermarket supplies etc.

M

 

[CraigMiles1991]

Thanks for the feedback, anymore is welcome!

 

[Guest]

hi Craig, welcome to the forum

i think it's a great idea, and could really help many people with all kinds of conditions which require dietary alterations in some way - it's the kind of thing that could really take off and grow, depending on how much research and information you put into it.

one thought i had, which i am not sure if you would consider this, would be to change the name of the website slightly, to incorporate the fact that this is a food allergy/sensitivity/restriction advice site. that would help enormously in the website getting hits from the exact people you're trying to help. i know if i were looking for info on say, alternatives to milk, the keywords i would use would be things like "allergy, alternative, diet, sensitivity, intolerance" etc.. - maybe something for you to think about...

good luck with this - i hope it's successful, and if it becomes a complete working site, please let us know - it's certainly something i would refer people to, both here in and in my offline life.

 

[Jennifer]

Sounds similar to the site I wanted to make in the sense that it requires a TON of research. As far as what thefreeaccount said, maybe you could make the site similar to wikipedia where regular people can update certain information such as location for these products. Just a suggestion.