Coeliac UK has been assisting people with coeliac disease and other gluten-related illnesses lead happier, healthier lives for more than 50 years. They achieve this by working to improve the quality of gluten-free food available in more locations, offering their community unbiased, reliable guidance and assistance, and financing important research to not only manage the effects of gluten but also uncover the causes of coeliac disease.

Coeliac UK came to Arch looking to create a unified app experience to replace their existing offering, which at the time consisted of two apps with distinct functionality. Additionally, the development of the new application had to take place under a strict development timeline in order to meet the timeframes set for the retirement of their app offering.

Owing to the existence of the applications prior to speaking with us, Coeliac UK had a strong sense of what they wanted to achieve through the introduction of the new app, and which functionality would be core to fulfilling their goals. 

In order to achieve the tight deadline, whilst also delivering an initial product that would allow Coeliac UK to achieve their goals effectively, we began by working through our discovery process, with which we were able to determine the most effective order for the release of features most essential to their user base. This saw us also consulting with Coeliac UK on how best to improve features, as well as mapping out a number of new feature sets. From this point, we were able to determine an extended development programme that included multiple release phases, with the first launching on time for their requirements, and subsequent releases of less essential features into 2023. All of these phases were planned as part of the initial discovery processes so Coeliac UK had a comprehensive understanding of the timelines associated with a full scope development. 

The app backend connects to a sophisticated network of API’s, facilitating functionality from the previously unified apps, into a singular product. Through connection to FoodMaestro, the app is able to call on, and deliver product information on hundreds of thousands of packaged foods, which is accessible via a barcode scanner built into the application. This functionality forms one core offering of the application in it’s current state, which previously required its own individual app.