Save Time, Money, and Your Health with the Yuka App

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Have you ever found yourself trying to pronounce the ingredient names on certain food or cosmetic labels? With names such as “Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate,” “Butylated Hydroxyanisole,” and “Polyethylene Terephthalate,” consumers are often left wondering what’s really in the products they’re purchasing.

Enter the Yuka app. Founded in 2017 by French brothers Francois and Benoit Martin and their friend Julie Chapon, the app allows users to scan the barcode of any food or cosmetic product to see a detailed breakdown of the product’s ingredients and overall impact on their health.

Yuka’s database currently contains information on over 1.5 million products, thanks to both the contributions of the app’s users and of the producers of the products themselves. In the off-chance that an item is not already in the database, users can directly upload photos of the item and its ingredient list to the app.

Each item in the database receives a score out of 100. Products with scores in the range of 75-100 are represented by a dark green circle and an “Excellent” ranking, while products with scores in the range of 50-75 are represented by a light green circle and a “Good” ranking. Conversely, products with scores in the 25-50 range are represented by an orange circle and a “Poor” ranking, while products with scores in the range of 0-25 are represented by a red circle and a “Bad” ranking.

Each food product query results in a list of “negatives” and “positives” about the item, while each cosmetic product query results in a ranked (from worst to best) list of the product’s ingredients. Users can then click on each ingredient to find out what health risks they pose, if any. When a product is known to have negative health effects, the Yuka app will recommend similar items that are healthier and have higher rankings.

Just the other day, I went to Ulta to buy a lip gloss that my favorite influencer recommended online. Just before I checked out with a stockpile of other beauty products, I remembered that I had forgotten to check the ingredients of the items I was carrying. When I scanned the lip gloss, I was surprised to see that it was given a “Bad” rating.

The first harmful ingredient listed was polybutene. Upon clicking on ingredient name, I skimmed the three paragraphs of information provided and learned that polybutene is a mineral oil and potential carcinogen that’s never fully-eliminated by the body once ingested. Although lip products are not intentionally consumed, I was uncomfortable knowing the extent of the damage that could be done to my body just from this one ingredient, so I put the lip gloss back on the shelf.

A whopping 92% of Yuka app users put products back on their shelves when they see that they’ve been given a “Bad” rating. With over 35 million users, the app and its widespread popularity have led various brands to end their use of certain controversial additives in their products. At least 21 food and cosmetic companies, including Nestlé (owner of more than 2,000 brands, including Cheerios, Coffee-Mate, and Häagen-Dazs) and Unilever (owner of more than 400 brands, including Dove, Ben & Jerry’s, and Hellmann’s), have stated that the Yuka app influenced the formulation of some of their products.

Yuka also prides itself in its impartiality and independence. The company refuses funding from brands and distributors and does not exploit or resell its users’ data. As Yuka’s website explains, “the rating of food and cosmetic products, like the recommendations, is based on a completely impartial algorithm that no brand can influence.”

Since users can access all of this information for free and Yuka refuses brand funding, you might be wondering how the company remains financially-sound. Yuka’s website indicates that the company is funded through four sources of income, one of which is the sales from the paid version of its app. 

Interestingly, Yuka lets users choose one of three payment options ($8.99/year, $13.99/year, or $18.49/year) for access to the app’s extra features. This, in effect, lets users decide how much they want to help the company grow. One notable benefit of Yuka’s paid version is that it allows users to search for products without having to scan a bar code.

All in all, the Yuka app is a convenient addition to your smartphone. Not only will it save you time and money, but it will also help you make healthy choices when it comes to the food you eat and the cosmetics you put on your body.