Yuka: AI-Powered Data Capture Enables Healthier Living

Yuka is a French-born, globally operating business dedicated to keeping consumers informed about the food they eat and cosmetics they use. In 2017, Yuka launched a free mobile app that enables consumers to scan product barcodes using Scandit Smart Data Capture and obtain instant evaluations of the nutritional value of food products. Due to user demand, in 2018 it enabled the app to also scan cosmetic products (such as soap and shampoo) to obtain information about the ingredients’ healthiness.

Fast forward to 2025, Yuka now proudly serves over 76 million users in 5 different languages in 12 different countries, including the United States, which currently represents Yuka’s biggest and fastest-growing market, with 22 million users. 

Yuka’s rapid growth has been a sign of the times: people have been paying closer attention to the products they are consuming. This partly stems from eroded consumer trust in food and cosmetics manufacturers. “Sixty percent of food products in the market are bad for your health,” said Julie Chapon, co-founder of Yuka. Additionally, social media has boosted education about health risks associated with certain ingredients, sparking a shift towards a better lifestyle.

Yet Chapon notes:

Food and cosmetic labels are very complicated to decipher: there’s a huge amount of information, hard-to-interpret nutritional facts, and the ingredient lists are full of complex words.

Julie Chapon, co-founder of Yuka

That’s where scanning comes in.

Powered by Scandit, the Yuka app offers the perfect tool for objective (and actionable) product insights by empowering anyone to effortlessly access expert product information and, ultimately, healthy living. And the latest AI-enabled smart data capture capabilities deliver an even more flawless scanning experience.

Challenge

When Yuka set out to build its mobile app, it was clear the camera-based scanning engine had to meet several non-negotiables.

Designing a solution to appeal to the average pressed-for-time shopper meant scanning had to be fast, accurate, extremely intuitive, and work on a myriad of consumer devices so that it’s accessible to as many people as possible. From an operational perspective, high-performing barcode scanning capabilities were imperative to identify products on the spot and match them to database information. It also had to work:

• On tiny barcodes (often found on grocery and cosmetic products)
• On damaged barcodes (e.g., frozen products)
• In low-light or glare conditions (typical inside stores, fridges, etc.)
• At angles or from a distance

Yuka first tested Apple’s native iOS scanning, Google’s Firebase native Android scanning, and an open-source option. However, none were up to Yuka’s standards.

“The iOS and open-source solutions didn’t work that well, especially in difficult and low lighting or with damaged codes,” said François Martin, CTO and co-founder of Yuka. “The Google Firebase solution did not scan quickly and the orientation of the smart device had a negative effect on scanning.”

Following this process, Yuka decided to integrate the Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK into its app.

Solution

The Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK was the perfect choice for Yuka’s developers thanks to its unmatched speed, superior accuracy, adaptability to difficult conditions, user-friendliness, and compatibility with over 20,000 models of smart devices, ticking all of Yuka’s boxes.

In addition to Scandit’s superior performance, Yuka found integrating smart data capture into its app to be an easy and straightforward process: “The Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK integration has been pretty easy,” said Martin. “It was easy to implement and fast to develop. The stability and scalability have been a big help. We didn’t have any problems.”

Scandit enabled shoppers to easily scan product barcodes using their smartphone’s camera, after which the Yuka app showcases the product’s overall score out of 100 and a color-coded verdict: “Bad” (Red; 0-24), “Poor” (Orange, 25-49), “Good” (Light Green, 50-74) or “Excellent” (Dark Green, 75-100). Users can then access a detailed product sheet to understand the score: for food, that includes nutritional and chemical evaluations of ingredients; for cosmetics, that means a risk analysis of the ingredients’ potential effects on health or the environment; all criteria are backed by scientific sources.

If a product is determined to be unhealthy, the app will independently recommend similar alternative items that have a better score.

Additionally, if the item does not match one of the 4 million food products and 2 million cosmetic products currently existing in Yuka’s database, the user can add the information themselves. Brands can submit product information too. Regardless of the source, this information then passes numerous automated reliability checks, as well as a manual check if needed, and is ultimately included in the respective database. 1200 new products are added to Yuka’s library daily.

Throughout the entire product lookup process, scanning is effortless: “Customers’ first experience on the app is scanning the product and seeing if it is good or bad. They are amazed at the speed of the scan and the phone’s performance. It’s part of the ‘wow effect’. The product’s barcode image might be blurry, but it will still scan well,” commented Martin.

AI-driven data capture

Through a long-term partnership, Yuka has been continuously optimizing its data capture technology to better serve users by deploying Scandit’s AI-powered features including the ability to:

• Consistently detect and capture the barcodes users want to scan, leading to fewer errors and more accurate scanning even when aiming is imperfect or multiple barcodes are in the field of view. This is a perfect fit for a consumer-facing app like Yuka, because as Martin explains, “The Scandit context-aware AI engine helps eliminate unintentional scans, a result of the environments Yuka users usually scan products in, such as the store, pantry, or fridge, where barcodes are heavily prevalent”.
• Intelligently avoid duplicate barcode entries by identifying when users are scanning the same product intentionally (i.e., sequentially scanning two identical items) versus by mistake (i.e., scanning the same barcode twice). Martin comments that, “When Yuka users scan identical products — whether stocking up in bulk, following a shopping list, or scanning multi-packs — Scandit’s smart duplicate filtering is incredibly helpful in differentiating intended scans from accidental ones, keeping every scan accurate and effortless”.
• Use optical character recognition (OCR) as a fallback for unreadable barcodes, automatically scanning the product by reading its text instead. Once again, Martin remarks that, “Thanks to OCR as backup, Scandit ensures frictionless, automated scanning for our users even in in-store scenarios where product barcodes can’t be read due to being damaged or covered by promotional stickers”.  

Expansion of features

The enterprise has continued to expand its digital services to better serve users in cool and innovative ways, like highlighting Top Scanned products and encouraging users to “Call Out” brands via email or social media for using certain high-risk additives.

Additionally, to spur business growth, the food & cosmetic scanner has introduced premium features such as:

• A search engine allowing product lookup without any barcode scanning
• An offline mode that allows scanning without an internet connection
• Product alerts for dietary preferences and intolerances the likes of gluten, lactose, or compatibility with a vegetarian or vegan diet

In the future, Yuka is also looking to expand its alternative product recommendations to location-based suggestions — users will be notified if someone recently scanned a higher-scoring product in the same location, leading to healthier choices right off the shelf. 

Results

Since its inception, Yuka has simplified the food and cosmetics shopping process for millions of people globally, reshaping consumer behavior and leading to healthier lifestyles. The app’s own studies show that, since they’ve started using Yuka, 92% of users have been buying fewer ultra-processed foods and 88% feel they are in better health.

Scandit proudly supports this shift to healthier lifestyles through its Smart Data Capture technology, which has allowed the Yuka app not only to function smoothly from a technological perspective but also to scale operations at an astonishing rate without fear of disruption, with 8.3 billion scans since launch. In 2024 alone, Yuka recorded 2.7 billion product scans (85 scans per second) worldwide, and it’s set to keep growing amidst increasing popularity. 

As a result of its rapid growth and influence, Yuka is positively affecting how food and cosmetics manufacturers create their products. For instance, French supermarket chain Intermarché reformulated 1,100 products, getting rid of 142 additives. Likewise, cosmetics company Caudalie now features Yuka ratings directly on its product pages.

“Companies will speak with us about what they can do to improve existing products and before they launch new products,” explained Martin. “The grade on the Yuka app is an important factor in consumer purchasing decisions. We have played a crucial part in the industry’s efforts to reduce salt, sugar, and additives in food products. We’re part of the bigger picture.”

Overall, it’s no wonder the Yuka app has such incredible user ratings (App Store: 4.8 from 81,000 reviews; Google Play: 4.8 from 168,000 reviews) – its ease of use, coupled with the information it provides, makes it a one-of-a-kind resource, and Scandit is proud to play a part in its far-reaching positive impact.

“For more than eight years, Scandit has been a key partner in bringing our vision to life, helping us grow Yuka and expand our user base across the globe and into new continents. Its Smart Data Capture capabilities remain unparalleled, meeting all our needs and most importantly all our users’ needs, and we’re looking forward to collaborating further to continue to enable healthier choices for consumers,” declares Chapon.

“Scandit’s AI-driven data capture capabilities demonstrate remarkable technical expertise and show a deep focus on innovations that truly enhance the user’s scanning experience in real-world conditions,” concludes Martin.