Revolo - Find comfort in your food
Year 1 (2025-26)
by Mallaigh Phelan
Rev, brought to you by Revolo, is a digital food tester, designed to help eliminate uncertainty and anxiety surrounding the safety of food for those with allergies.
About This Idea
Revolo is a portable allergen testing device revolutionized through a humanized interaction system, bringing users a comprehensive and comforting experience. With an increasing number of individuals with food sensitivities and allergies each year, there is a massive area of opportunity to help make their lives easier. Food sensitivities and allergies cause a lot of uncertainty, stress, and largely negatively impacts an individual’s quality of life. Revolo sought out a way to minimize this stress, uncertainty, and anxiety. Using science backed technology, Rev, your allergy companion, can test your food and give you a clear answer on whether or not it is safe for you to eat. You can easily bring the device with you wherever you go, and Rev’s humanized user interface brings joy and a sense of companionship on your journey with a food allergy.
Where Did This Idea Spark at WMU?
Revolo was born in my Junior Housewares Design Studio class in WMU’s RID+I program. As a product design major, I am trained on defining a clear problem, and through empathetic research and a lot of ideation, identifying and executing an impactful solution. The opportunity started with my sister who has a food allergy. Growing up with her and seeing the ways it impacts her life sparked a need to create something that could help. This project started out as a semester long project for class that was submitted to the IHA Housewares design competition. In the following semester I continued to refine and build Revolo through RID+I’s Venture Capital Studio, where I focused on building my project through an entrepreneurial lens.
Impact in Kalamazoo
Food allergies are prevalent everywhere across all ages. However, coming to college with a food allergy presents a whole new area of anxiety for new students. From dining halls to new restaurants, managing food allergies and sensitivities in college comes with an increased level of challenge. With such a high population of college students and young individuals here in Kalamazoo, Revolo will be incredibly impactful in reducing anxiety in something that is essential in everyone’s lives.
How Investment Helps
Investment would help a great deal with key product development aspects that will ultimately bring Revolo to life. Funding would allow me to test and develop key factors through engineering and chemistry, creating functional prototypes that can be tested with users in the real world.
What I'll Do With the Money
50% - Research and Development exploring how new and existing science/technology can set Revolo apart from competitors
30% - Prototyping and testing user interface and experience.
20% - Brand development and marketing.
About the Founder
My name is Mallaigh Phelan. As a senior studying Product Design at Western Michigan University, I have become very passionate about the design process. I approach my projects with a detail oriented work ethic, and an eagerness to problem solve. As a designer, I am looking forward to professionally implementing what I've learned at WMU to create impactful products that will help people.