Yuka : Empowering consumers in order to improve the food and beauty industry

Yuka : Empowering consumers in order to improve the food and beauty industry

Yuka is an app launched in 2017 by three French entrepreneurs - François Martin, Benoît Martin and Julie Chapon. Users can scan their food or beauty products and Yuka will determine if the product in good or not for their health based of the ingredients. The database is enriched with the submissions of the users (approximately eleven million users in France).

Quickly the users realised that products were not what they seemed and many of them had a poor composition that was bad for their health so they started to look for healthier alternatives. This behaviour marked a turning point for companies in France. Yuka, which is independent and doesn’t depend on funding from other companies, offers transparency on the products to the consumers that used to be denied to them. It has helped to highlight real issues that the food industry was keeping “hidden” and came at the right time, responding to consumer needs after various sanitary scandals. Yuka reflects a trend marked by growing consumer awareness of their consumption and after a huge success in France, the firm launched its app in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Spain. The goal is to go beyond Europe, introducing the app to the American and Canadian markets soon.

A wind of change with the empowerment of consumers against the industry which has to re-think its production. Healthy ingredients and how products are made has now become more than ever before a marketing argument with Yuka as a guide, validating or not what we want to buy. Some brands are becoming popular thanks to their clean composition as Yuka offers alternative options to the products rated « poor » or « bad ». Due to the number of users following the advice of Yuka, well-known brand like Nestlé or l’Oréal prefer to collaborate instead of denying the facts, trying to save and restore their band image. Consequently some companies started to adapt their products and one of the most relevant examples is the French supermarket chain Intermarché. Because of the very bad ratings of their products they have chosen to change the ingredients of more than one thousand products, banning controversial additives, reducing the quantity of salt, balancing the quantity of sugar, in other words making them healthier and more attractive. 

The situation is similar for the beauty industry, with big companies launching new ranges which are more environmentally friendly and healthier. Indeed some chemicals like BHT, phenoxylethanol or harmful silicons considered dangerous for a couple years, were used in most of the products as there was no awareness about the risks of these potential endocrinien disruptors. Henceforth consumers demand more consideration from the beauty industry thanks to Yuka and the explanation given for each harmful substance found. Green marketing - the new trend for brands to attract new customers and offer their existing customers reasons to stay loyal. 

What was at first a purchasing guide for consumers turned out to be not only a reference for buyers but also an example for the industry which is forced to follow the general tendency if they want to  remain appealing.

Since the beginning of the eco-friendly trend, coming as much from the need for transparency than awareness of climate change, we have been observing mostly good consequences however that needs some perspective. First it enabled to strengthen the trust between the brand and the consumers when the brand has an ethical code of conduct most of the time it concerns organic brands such as Bjorg for the food or Dr Hauschka for the beauty. It’s not really green marketing as the brands were founded with the idea of being green and offering « safe » products is their selling point consequently failing to do so would damage their image and disappoint their customers. 

On the other hand some brands are using green marketing but neglect the choice of harmless ingredients. It mostly concerns multinationals trying to be mainstream without making the efforts to offer the advertised quality. That’s where Yuka became even more useful : showing the truth behind the marketing. 

The French app brings transparency to the products we use daily, initiating a small revolution to make us more aware and help us live healthier and more environmentally-conscious.

Zoé G. 

Sources:

Yuka - https://yuka.io/blog/ - accessed on the 03/11/19

LSA corso - Deux ans après son lancement, Yuka mesure son impact - Camille Harel - https://www.lsa-conso.fr/deux-ans-apres-son-lancement-yuka-mesure-son-impact,328716 - published on the 24/09/19 - accessed on the 03/11/19

Stratégies - YUKA, L’APPLI QUI FAIT TREMBLER LES MARQUES - Delphine Le Goff et Delphine Soulas-Gesson - http://www.strategies.fr/actualites/marques/4019529W/yuka-l-appli-qui-fait-trembler-les-marques.html - published on  the 30/10/18 - accessed on the 03/11/19

France Inter - Comment l'application Yuka a forcé Intermarché à modifier ses recettes - Rémi Brancato -  https://www.franceinter.fr/yuka-l-application-qui-force-intermarche-a-revoir-ses-recettes - published on the 18/09/19 - accessed on the 03/11/19

Scandit - Yuka Keeps Food Consumers Informed with Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK - author not mentioned - https://www.scandit.com/blog/yuka-keeps-food-consumers-informed-with-scandit-barcode-scanner-sdk/ - published on the 30/04/17 - accessed on the 03/11/19

E-Marketing - Les marques se mettent au vert - Béatrice Hérauld - https://www.e-marketing.fr/Marketing-Magazine/Article/Les-marques-se-mettent-au-vert-18050-1.htm - published on 01/02/17 - accessed on 03/11/19