Spokin

What Spokin does

Spokin, Inc. is a Chicago-based, privately-held company founded in 2014 that operates a niche consumer mobile application serving individuals and families managing food allergies, celiac disease, and related dietary restrictions. The platform is distributed exclusively through Apple's iOS App Store and targets people allergic to peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, gluten/celiac, sesame, shellfish, fish, and other allergens, including parents/caregivers managing pediatric allergies, college-bound students, frequent travelers, and newly diagnosed individuals. Founder and CEO Susie Hultquist leads the company, which operates with a headcount of 1-10 employees and has not disclosed any external venture funding rounds.

Name

Spokin

Legal name

Spokin, Inc.

Website

https://spokin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spokin operates an iOS mobile app and content platform that helps individuals with food allergies and celiac disease find allergy-safe restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, hotels, colleges, and travel destinations, monetizing via B2B partnerships with food businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Allergy Management Mobile App

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile Ordering, POS & Campus Dining Technology (EDALADAN)

Keywords

• Food allergy management
• Mobile health application
• Allergy-friendly travel
• Celiac disease resources
• Restaurant discovery platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. B2B Partnerships with Food Businesses: Revenue generated from restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, hotels, colleges, and food brands seeking visibility and verification within the Spokin platform. Businesses pay for featured placement, verified partner status, and marketing to the allergy-conscious consumer segment.
2. Consumer App (Freemium): Free mobile app for consumers managing food allergies. Basic features are free; premium features or services may be available for paying users.
3. Content and Guides: Published guides and content that attract audience and provide value to both consumers and B2B partners seeking to reach this demographic

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spokin is a consumer mobile application that helps individuals and families manage food allergies and celiac disease by providing a trusted directory of allergy-friendly restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, and hotels, along with community-driven reviews organized by specific allergens and curated travel guides for safe destinations.

Product overview

Spokin is a consumer-focused food allergy management platform centered on its mobile application. The platform provides a curated directory of allergy-friendly restaurants, ice cream shops, bakeries, hotels, and travel guides, alongside community-driven reviews and recommendations. The Spokin app serves as the primary interface through which users access verified brand partners, restaurant listings, product guides, and travel resources organized by dietary needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spokin Mobile App A consumer-facing mobile application that helps individuals and families managing food allergies and celiac disease discover allergy-friendly restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, and hotels, with reviews organized by specific allergens and curated travel guides.
• Verified Partners Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Coverage of 33 US states and 8+ countries for allergy-friendly venues
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• OpenTable: OpenTable is the leading restaurant reservation platform with deep relationships to restaurants and consumer dining intent. It is comparable because it sits between consumers and restaurants with filtering, and could expand dietary-restriction filters as a value-add to diners.
• Yelp: Yelp is the dominant generalist restaurant discovery platform with massive review volume and consumer mindshare. It is a broad incumbent because it could trivially add allergen-specific filters that compete directly with Spokin's allergy categorization, representing the largest competitive threat to the niche.
• TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor is the dominant travel-review platform covering restaurants, hotels, and attractions globally. It overlaps with Spokin's travel-guide and hotel-review verticals and could add allergy-specific content or partner with allergy-focused creators at scale.
• Google Maps: Google Maps is the default restaurant discovery surface for most consumers and hosts user reviews, attributes, and business profiles. As a broad incumbent, it poses disintermediation risk if Google adds structured allergy/dietary attributes to business listings.

Direct peers

• HappyCow: HappyCow is a community-driven directory for vegan, vegetarian, and allergy-friendly restaurants worldwide with user reviews and travel guides. Comparable because it combines community reviews with verified-business partnerships in the dietary-restriction consumer segment, operating across multiple countries.
• AllergyEats: AllergyEats is the closest direct competitor — a rating platform specifically for food-allergy-friendly restaurants with community reviews and a focus on peanut, tree nut, dairy, egg, gluten, and other allergens. Operates with a similar niche-discovery model to Spokin, making it the most head-to-head comparable.
• Find Me Gluten Free: Find Me Gluten Free is a directory and mobile app focused specifically on gluten-free and celiac-friendly restaurants. Direct peer because it shares Spokin's celiac/gluten-free vertical, allergy-specific filtering, and discovery-first consumer value proposition, though narrower in allergen scope.

Emerging players

• Fooducate: Fooducate is a health-and-nutrition-focused app helping consumers evaluate food products and ingredients. It is an emerging comparable in the dietary-management consumer app space, sharing Spokin's health-conscious consumer base but focused on grocery products rather than restaurants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SpokinInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/spokininc
• Instagraminstagram.com/spokininc
• Pinterestpinterest.com/spokininc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spokin