Member Article

Teesside Uni student launches search engine identifying gluten free products

MSc Marketing Management student at Teesside University Satwinder Badesha has launched a search engine identifying gluten free products, Gluten Free Occasions, following a £6,500 from Teesside University’s social entrepreneurship fund.

Satwinder hit upon the idea after spending several hours online trying to find an appropriate birthday cake for his mother who suffers from Coeliac Disease.

For the past 14 months Satwinder has been compiling a directory of more than 5,000 restaurants, takeaways, hotels and bakeries which serve gluten-free products.

This directory is now available on his new search engine to help sufferers of Coeliac Disease find ingredients and products which are gluten free.

The £6,500 grant has been made possible by a £25k grant from UnLtd – a support charity for social entrepreneurs.

As a not-for-profit social enterprise any profits raised from the website will be spent on developing it further, with any additional money going to the charity Coeliac UK.

Coeliac Disease is caused by intolerance to gluten and affects approximately one in 100 people.

Sufferers of Coeliac Disease who are not on a gluten-free diet can experience a range of symptoms including digestive difficulties, tiredness, sudden or unexpected weight loss, hair loss and anaemia.

As well as the UnLtd grant, Satwinder also received help from Teesside University’s enterprise team in the form of mentoring and support.

Satwinder said: “Finding food which is suitable for my mother is always a real struggle and one day after spending hours searching the internet trying to find a birthday cake for her, I decided to try and do something about it.

“There are a lot of people who suffer from Coeliac Disease and so far, the response has been fantastic with lots of people being really supportive on Twitter.

“The help and support from the enterprise team has been phenomenal as it has given me new skills, access to contacts and has enabled the project to achieve its potential.”

Director of Academic Enterprise at Teesside University, Laura Woods, said: “We are delighted that we have been able to work with Satwinder to set up this fantastic website.

“Allowing sufferers of Coeliac Disease to quickly and conveniently source products and ingredients which will be safe for them to eat will have a major impact on the lives of thousands of people.”

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