FARE PACT Alliance

More than 33 million people in the U.S. live with the disease of food allergies, which can cause life-threatening reactions. Grocery shopping can be both difficult and expensive, and eating out at restaurants becomes a dangerous experience. Travel and vacations—joys that other people take for granted—often induce anxiety.

In 2020, the Food Allergy Consumer Journey Report showed that there are an estimated 100 million people in the U.S. who have a food allergy or food intolerance, or who live in a household with someone who does. This group represents an untapped $19 billion market for CPGs and other industries. For people with food sensitivities, and their loved ones, safety is a primary driver of decision-making.

This consumer group is poorly understood by most industries. Yet, with more insights and a tailored approach, industries could gain the confidence and loyalty of a valuable, underserved consumer segment while ensuring the needs of the food allergy community at-large are better met. FARE is working with industries to make this happen.

Get to Know Our Co-Chairs

Nicole Ledoux

Nicole Ledoux is the Co-Founder and CEO of 88 Acres, creating allergy-friendly healthy snacks and pantry staples with the power of seeds. Nicole launched 88 Acres in 2015 alongside her husband Rob, who is deathly allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. They built a top nine allergen-free manufacturing facility in the inner-city of Boston to fuel purposeful job creation into an area of need and ensure safety for food allergy consumers. In 2023, after outgrowing their original plant, 88 Acres moved into its new expanded manufacturing facility in Canton, MA.

Prior to launching 88 Acres, Nicole spent over 10 years in finance, trading fixed-income options at State Street in Boston, managing a physical commodity portfolio at Constellation Energy in London, and in investment management at Putnam Investments in Boston. Nicole received her MBA from Harvard Business School and BA from UMass Amherst.  When not running 88 Acres, Nicole can be found chasing her children Emmett and Parker around and enjoying lots of outdoor activities, especially on her family's 88-acre farm in Central Massachusetts.

Scott Mandell

Scott Mandell is the founder of Mandell Consulting Group. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Enjoy Life Foods, a company dedicated to gluten-free and allergy-friendly food products. Scott advised in the creation of the gluten-free certification organization (GFCO), the largest gluten-free certification program in the world, and Enjoy Life became the first company to have its facility and products certified by the GFCO. In February 2015, Enjoy Life Foods was acquired by Mondelēz International, Inc., a +$30 billion multinational food company, and Scott continued to oversee the Enjoy Life business (as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mondelēz) until October 2016.

Scott is an advisor and former CEO of The Shine Hope Company, a mental health education company. He is also the former president of Cannabistry, which sells cannabis infused products in the legal California cannabis market. Scott has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (currently YPO-Gold) since 2009 and a mentor to many upstart entrepreneurs. In 2016, Scott was named by Food Processing magazine as one of five company leaders who are “revolutionizing Big Food.” He holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Scott is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing, skiing, paddle tennis, and poker; he resides in Deerfield, IL, with his wife (Dana) and their three children (Ronnie, Ryan, and Reese).

Elizabeth Pigg

Elizabeth Pigg, originally from Chicago and now based in Los Angeles, boasts over two decades of leadership in digital-first marketing and communications. Throughout her career, she has made an impact on iconic brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, AXE, and Lagunitas during her 18-year tenure at Edelman. Her extensive skill set encompasses marketing strategy, social media, eCommerce, and public relations, making her a versatile expert in navigating the dynamic marketing and communications landscape.

In 2020, Elizabeth joined That's it. as the Chief Marketing Officer, where she played a pivotal role in revitalizing the company’s marketing strategy. Transitioning in 2024 to the role of Chief Communications Officer, Elizabeth now oversees the complete communications ecosystem, leveraging her passion for storytelling to deliver compelling and newsworthy narratives to a broader audience. Outside of her professional endeavors, Elizabeth engages in diverse creative interests as a violist, vocalist, and voiceover artist.

Eric Rosenkranz

Eric Rosenkranz brings 25 years of experience building and leading sales, marketing, and business development teams in the software industry, including a 15-year career at Microsoft and 8 years at Google, where he currently serves as a leader in Google's fast-growing Cloud business. Eric is also an active investor in packaged food businesses focused on serving the food-allergic community. This personal mission is inspired by his own experience managing life-threatening food allergies since the 1970s.

Eric’s educational background includes an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, an MS in Data Science from Brandeis University, a BS in Computer Information Systems from American University, and the Level 1 Instructor Certification at Brown University in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

For More Information

To be in conversation with the FARE PACT Alliance, please reach out to Craig Fontenot, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at FARE.

For media inquiries, please email media@foodallergy.org.