Yuka – Do you really know what you are eating?
Yuka is a mobile application which will allow you to scan the barcode of food products and obtain clear and simple information on the impact of the product on health, but also to find healthier product alternatives. Do you really know what you are eating?
56% of products found in supermarkets have a negative impact on health. As consumers, we unfortunately do not always have the necessary lighting to allow us to make the right choices: product labels are often difficult to read; and contain many unfamiliar terms. We therefore very often have to rely on the visible part of the packaging where marketing has its place, and which can contain confusing messages.
Yuka analyzes food labels and evaluates each product taking into account all the criteria that may impact health.
The operation is very simple:
– Scan the product barcode to see the product’s impact on health via a color code.
– Then access a product sheet explaining the evaluation, with the qualities and defects of the product.
As soon as the impact of a product is negative, Yuka will find similar products that are better for health. Do your breakfast cereals contain too much sugar and are full of additives? Yuka then recommends less sweet and more natural cereals. Yuka also offers a ranking of the best products by category. Biscuits, fruit juices, pizzas…: you have access to the TOP of the healthiest products.
The goal: change your eating habits to improve your health!
Poor eating habits can have significant long-term consequences (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and even cancer). Yuka’s mission is to help consumers make choices and guide them towards the healthiest products. Above all, by changing their habits and shunning bad products, consumers help encourage manufacturers to improve their product offering.
A completely independent assessment.
Yuka’s assessment is completely independent and is based on 3 criteria:
– Nutritional quality (60% of the mark): the calculation method is based on the recommendations of Professor Serge Hercberg within the framework of the National Health Strategy proposed by the State.
– Presence of additives (30% of the mark): we base this on the classification of additives carried out by the UFC Que Choisir.
– Presence of pesticides (10% of the note): we take into account the presence of the French organic label (AB) and / or the European organic label (Eurofeuille)
– Product information: a topical subject at the heart of the debate on nutritional labeling.
Product information is a real public health issue in order to fight against health problems and diseases caused by poor nutrition. This is why the State plans to set up a nutritional information system. But the food industry is exerting strong pressure on this project, believing that certain products should not be stigmatized. As this project seems far from succeeding, Yuka offers a digital alternative in order to better inform consumers.
At the initiative of the project, a family adventure.
Julie, François and Benoit form a tight-knit family team made up of a pair of brothers and a couple. All three held great positions: consultant in a large consulting firm, manager of her own web agency and buyer in a large bank. They started working on their idea in their spare time, alongside their respective jobs. In February 2016, they tested their idea in a competition, which they won. From there, everything accelerates. Convinced of the usefulness of their idea, they give up their posts in the months that follow to devote themselves full time to Yuka. They find partners to support them and help them grow this project, form a community, and launch the application in January 2016.
