When I was five years old, my best friend’s mum offered to make me peanut butter on toast. I’d never tried it, but I hated the smell of peanuts - so instead I asked for toast with just butter. But as soon as I took one bite I knew something was wrong...
I started coming up in hives, swelling, and became extremely unwell over the next 24 hours. After some doctor’s consultations, a skin prick test and a blood test, I found out I was severely allergic to nuts.
The same knife had been used on both pieces of toast, and traces of peanut butter had caused me to have my first-ever allergic reaction.
I left the hospital with my life changed - and two adrenaline pens in my hand.
I always try my best to carry two adrenaline pens with me, wherever I go.
Fast forward about twenty years and I’ve learned to live with my allergy - although between the stories of avoidable deaths constantly popping up on the news, and the issues getting hold of (and keeping) a set of adrenaline pens - it hasn’t been easy.
In 2020 I went to university to study industrial design. It was there that I decided I wanted to create something that could help create awareness for how serious allergies could be, and treat anyone experiencing an allergic reaction, wherever they were.
That’s when I came up with the idea to create something “just like a defibrillator, but for allergies”.
The initial ‘ana.’ concept that I designed at university, which ended up becoming Kitt.
After graduating in the peak of COVID, I thought ‘There’s no way I could actually make this… right?’
Thankfully I had all my friends and family telling me it was too good of an idea to at least give it a go - so sitting alone in my bedroom, juggling lockdown and some freelance website design clients, I built up the foundations of the business.
The Loughborough University COVID-19 graduation ceremony.
About one year in, my friend Jonny introduced me to James. He quickly took an interest in what I was doing, and when his old job put him on furlough during COVID, he jumped at the opportunity to be my co-founder.
We both went all-in on the business and quickly we started ramping things up - raising our first round of investment, securing a pharmaceutical partner, and running a successful pilot phase with our first prototype.
James holding our first product prototype. We produced 10 of these for our pilot phase in 2021.
The team grew a little larger, with my old school friend Simon joining us to help build out our software platform to host our training course, automate our medication subscription service, and just generally be the smartest guy in the room.
We also hired Jonny not so long after - a killer salesman and my lifelong best mate, determined to help us since the very beginning.
The Kitt team in April 2022 from left to right: Simon, Zak, James & Jonny.
It was clear this wasn’t just a university project anymore. So at the start of 2023, it was finally time for us to officially launch - and that’s when things got really crazy.
We travelled all over the country, won a couple of awards, and in just over a year we’ve installed Kitts in over 300 schools across the UK!
Over 150,000 students now have access to emergency treatment in case of a severe allergic reaction…
And more than 4,000 staff members have completed our CPD-accredited training course!
Standing in our UK based factory with our Anaphylaxis Kitts on launch day!
But the most amazing thing that’s happened in the last year?
Not once - but twice - our Kitts have been used to treat someone’s life-threatening allergic reaction.
We were interviewed live by Vaness Feltz on TalkTV to discuss the story of the first Kitt use to treat 14-year-old Ava’s severe allergic reaction at school.
This all started with my initial diagnosis. But it ends with an Anaphylaxis Kitt being every single defibrillator's next-door neighbour. And we’ve only just begun.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our Anaphylaxis Kitt service, just go to kittmedical.com
Together, we’re creating a new standard for allergy care.
