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Dietary tags and restrictions

The dietary tags you can put on dishes, the allergy notes guests can add, and how each one shows up.

Last reviewed 4 min read

On this page7 sections
  1. Dietary tags on a dish
  2. What guests see
  3. The allergy and dietary notes box
  4. Reviewing the notes
  5. Tags vs notes — which to use
  6. Common questions
  7. Related articles

InviteBird handles dietary needs two ways: tags you put on a dish to say what it suits, and a free-text notes box where guests type their own allergies. They work together — tags help guests choose, notes catch anything a tag can't.

Dietary tags on a dish

When you build your menu, each dish has an optional set of dietary tags. Open Description, photo & dietary tags on a dish and tap any that apply. The full set is:

  • Vegetarian (VEG) — no meat or fish
  • Vegan (VGN) — no animal products
  • Gluten-free (GF) — no wheat, barley, or rye
  • Dairy-free (DF) — no milk or dairy
  • Nut-free (NF) — no tree nuts or peanuts
  • Shellfish-free (SHF) — no shellfish
  • Halal (HAL) — halal-prepared
  • Kosher (KSH) — kosher-prepared
  • No pork (NP) — contains no pork

A dish can carry as many as fit. This fixed, standard set keeps things countable for a caterer and one-tap for you and your guests, instead of everyone free-typing. To add dishes in the first place, see Building your menu.

What guests see

Each tag shows as a short badge next to the dish — GF, VEG, and so on — and the guest's menu step includes a one-line legend spelling every badge out (for example GF = Gluten-free · VEG = Vegetarian), so nothing is a guessing game. Guests see the full menu above their pickers, with each dish's photo, description, and badges, and the badges are repeated in the dropdown beside each dish name. This helps guests pick a dish that already suits them before they ever need to write a note.

The allergy and dietary notes box

Tags describe the dish; the notes box is where a guest describes their own needs. It's a separate feature you turn on under Menu settings → Collect allergies & dietary notes (off by default). When it's on, the RSVP gains an optional "Allergies or dietary notes" box where a guest can write anything you should know, like "nut allergy" or "vegetarian, please." One box covers the whole party, so guests are nudged to say who each note is for (for example Sam: vegetarian. Me: nut allergy).

Turn it on when you want to hear directly from guests — a plated dinner or a caterer who needs exact allergy information. Leave it off for a casual menu where the tags are enough.

Reviewing the notes

Guests' notes collect in the Allergies & dietary notes step of your Food & menu section, each shown beside the guest's name. You can clear a note once you've handled it (you're asked to confirm, and the guest's name is shown). If a guest adds or changes a note later, you get a notification in your bell. If you've set a Meal choices close on date, notes lock along with meals after that day. The notes also travel into your exports so your caterer gets them — the guest CSV and the caterer brief PDF both include each guest's dietary note. See Meal counts and catering exports.

Tags vs notes — which to use

  • Use tags to label your dishes so guests can self-select (great when several options cover different needs).
  • Turn on the notes box to collect specifics you can't predict — severe allergies, combinations, or a preference that doesn't map to a tag.
  • Many hosts use both: tagged dishes to guide the choice, and the notes box as a catch-all.

Common questions

Are dietary tags the same as an allergy guarantee? No. A tag is a label you apply to describe a dish; it's only as accurate as the information you enter. For anything safety-critical, confirm with your caterer and rely on guests' written notes as well.

Can I add my own custom dietary tag? The tag set is fixed to the standard options listed above so counts stay clean for caterers. For anything outside that list, the free-text notes box is the place to capture it.

Do guests have to fill in the notes box? No — it's always optional for guests. It only appears at all if you've turned on Collect allergies & dietary notes.

Where do the notes go? Into the Allergies & dietary notes review list in your Food & menu section, and into your guest CSV and caterer PDF exports.

If I turn the menu off, do I keep collecting notes? No. Note collection is tied to the menu, so turning the menu off turns the notes box off too. Your saved dishes and past notes remain.

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