How Eat Choice Is Making Dining Out Safe for Thousands of Kiwis
For most people, choosing where to eat is easy. But for the thousands of New Zealanders living with coeliac disease, severe food allergies, or complex dietary intolerances, it’s a logistical minefield. Eat Choice, born and built in Christchurch, is changing that.
“The old approach was spending three hours on Google, then ending up at the same restaurant every time because it felt safe,” says founder Tammara. “When you show someone how to find a verified, safe meal matched to their exact health profile in 30 seconds — it’s a jaw-dropping moment.”
Built for complexity
The platform took a year of development before launch. The initial focus was coeliac and gluten-free dining, but it quickly became clear that users needed much more. The team built a proprietary inference engine that scales across all major medical allergens and strict dietary intolerances simultaneously.
One standout example is the low-FODMAP community. For people managing IBS, finding dishes free from onion and garlic is notoriously difficult – restaurants can’t publicly label these dishes as allergy-safe unless they truly are. Eat Choice’s technology bridges that gap, allowing venues to flag these options clearly within the app.
“Around 20,000 New Zealanders actively avoid onion and garlic,” Tammara notes. “We make it possible for them to find a safe meal without the guesswork.”
Canterbury at the core
Christchurch is where Eat Choice put down roots – and it shows. The platform now lists over 265 active venues nationwide, with Canterbury leading the country at 65+ local venues. The local network spans community favourites like Story, Scoundrel, Good Habit, and 27 Steps through to national partners including Joe’s Garage, Columbus Coffee and Lone Star. Work is still underway behind the scenes to grow the selection of premium dining options, with the creators of some of the city’s most iconic institutions currently finalising a partnership to join the platform.
While Canterbury remains the heartbeat of the network, growth is accelerating across the country – particularly in Auckland, Dunedin, and Queenstown.
Tech with a human face
Despite the sophistication of the platform, Tammara credits much of Eat Choice’s traction to something decidedly low-tech: showing up.
“We go to trade shows, expos, community events and talk to people face to face. Because safety and dining are so personal, our users want to know the face behind the app.”
That direct connection drives continuous improvement. With customer churn below 1%, the focus now is on deepening engagement – turning occasional users into regular ones by staying closely tuned to how real Kiwi diners actually eat.
Find your next safe meal
Eat Choice is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. If you or someone you know navigates dietary restrictions when eating out, try it!
