A Mother’s Love to Help Kids With Allergies

I was happy to recently be interviewed by the team over at FreshKids about all things related to food allergies and AllerMates! Check out the interview below, and be sure to visit www.wearefreshkids.com and see how dedicated they are to providing healthier snack options for kids in their Nut Free Facilty!

We recently caught up with Iris Shamus, Founder & CEO of Allermates, which provides simple, friendly and reliable resources to help parents and kids understand allergies, asthma and other health concerns.  AllerMates allergy and other health safety products are sold in over 7,000 locations across the USA and internationally. Based in New York, Iris and her team design characters, create helpful content, answer emails, ship products, and obsess every day about keeping kids safe.

 

Why did you create AllerMates?

My middle child, Benjamin was really my inspiration to create AllerMates. After finding out he had a nut allergy, I was confused as to why there was nothing in the marketplace that addressed kids with these health concerns in a fun and creative way. I have a background in theater, tv and advertising and I worked with my husband growing his toy business, so AllerMates was labor of love in which I was able to use a lot of my past experiences to benefit children with allergies and other health concerns.

 

 

AllerMates started as product company. Tell us about the allergy bracelets and who should wear them.

 

We did start as a product company from a business perspective, but we have always been an education and lifestyle company at our core. Before anything else, the AllerMates characters came to life and educational content was developed to teach kids about their allergies. It wasn’t until later that our allergy bracelets were produced. These products were created for kids with health concerns, especially kids who are very young and don’t have adequate communication skills.

 

 

We love your creativity and characters. Why did you choose characters? Who are the characters?

 

Thank you! Our characters were created to build a connection with our audience of kids. Kids see our characters and read their storylines that we’ve built and it makes learning about these health issues fun and more understandable for them. It’s hard to believe, but we have almost 30 different characters now! (www.allermates.com/kids) There’s Professor Wheatley, who is an esteemed professor for wheat gluten allergies, or Eggie, our short order cook for egg allergies, but P. Nutty, who represents peanut allergies, is our star. (http://www.allermates.com/kids/pnutty.php) P.Nutty selflessly gave up a career as a rap artist to dedicate his life to teaching kids about allergies (although he finds time to moonlight as a DJ on the weekends).

 

AllerMates has grown into more than just a product company. Tell us a little about the journey to create a brand and a movement to raise awareness about food allergies. What has been a highlight for you?

 

We’ve always wanted AllerMates to provide families an experience beyond just the product we sell. Starting a blog and seeing the positive reaction to the parent resources we created has been incredible. I’m proud of the fact that our brand can speak successfully to both parents and kids because I think that makes us unique. Both parents and kids need to understand these health issues, and kids need to learn to not be scared of it, so the way we present it with our characters really helps with that.

A major highlight in our journey has been seeing our product (and P.Nutty’s face next to brands like Benadryl) at CVS Health stores. Also, a recent highlight is finally making our An AllerMates Guide to Allergies book available to the public to further educate and build awareness around food allergies!

 

 

Did you know a lot about allergies when you started? How did you learn so much about food allergies and how to manage these with children?

 

I knew nothing when I first started, which is probably how a lot of parents feel until they’re faced with the situation of realizing their child has food allergies. After almost a decade of tirelessly researching and writing about allergies, I’ve definitely come a long way! I’ve also had the privilege of attending educational seminars over the years given by the top physicians in the field of food allergies. Luckily, the allergists in my life have been supporters and close friends through this journey so I can pick up the phone and get the answers I’m looking for at any time. A lot of my knowledge has also come from my own experience with my son and the mistakes I’ve made along the way. I feel a responsibility to share these lessons learned the hard way with other parents in similar situations.

 

What advise can you give other moms and dads just learning that their child has food allergies?

 

You are not alone! Unfortunately, food allergies and food intolerances are a growing concern. I would also say don’t be afraid of asking your child’s doctor questions until you have a better understanding of the situation. We aim to keep the information we provide at AllerMates clear and easy to understand so parents can come to us if they feel like their doctor is speaking a different language. Our website, www.AllerMates.com, is updated frequently with food allergy and kids’ health news so parents can always stay in the know.

xo

Iris