OUR STORY
Born from lived experience. Built on trust, love, and necessity.
It Started With Charlie
Charlie’s Safe Treat Box was founded by Sharon Gilbert, a mum whose son, Charlie, lives with multiple life-threatening food allergies.
Charlie had his first allergic reaction as a six-month-old baby and was later diagnosed with allergies to dairy, egg, peanuts, and tree nuts. Overnight, everyday foods became dangerous and everyday life became filled with fear, planning, and constant vigilance.
Like so many parents in the allergy community, Sharon was left asking:How do I keep my child safe in a world full of food that can harm him?
The Moment That Changed Everything
After Charlie suffered an anaphylactic reaction to a snack at daycare and was hospitalised, Sharon was confronted with a devastating reality… even hospitals were not well equipped to safely cater for patients with multiple food allergies.
There were no safe meals. No safe snacks. No easy options.
It was during that hospital stay that an idea began to form:What if there was a trusted, accessible place where people with food allergies could safely get food without fear or compromise?
A Box of Safety at Home
At home, there’s always been a Tupperware container labelled “Charlie’s Safe Treats.”
Inside are trusted allergen-free snacks sourced from multiple shops and triple-checked so Charlie can eat them safely. Charlie could choose treats for himself to take to birthday parties and social events.
That box represented freedom, inclusion, and safety.
And that’s exactly what Sharon wanted to create for other families.
From One Family to a Community
In 2022, Charlie’s Safe Treat Box was born.
What started as a personal solution quickly became a shared one, supporting other allergy families who were just as exhausted, just as cautious, and just as desperate for a trusted place to shop.
Today, Charlie’s Safe Treat Box helps families:
- Discover new allergy-safe snacks
- Enjoy familiar favourites
- Feel more confident sending their children into the world
And Charlie? He proudly helps taste-test all snacks and loves knowing that something created for him is helping others too. Plus, Charlie’s school friends are super impressed that he has a business selling snacks.
Looking Ahead
Our story is still being written.
As we continue to grow, our vision is to expand beyond the online store into Charlie’s Safe Treat Box vending machines, offering top 10 allergen-free snacks in everyday places where safe food options are often missing.
Because food allergies don’t take a day off, and neither do we.
Together, We’re Building Something Safer
Charlie’s Safe Treat Box is built on lived experience, safety, trust, and community.
Together, we can create a world where living with food allergies doesn’t mean missing out and where safe food is easier to find, wherever life takes you.