Introduction
Yuka is a consumer health app that lets shoppers scan food and cosmetic product barcodes to instantly evaluate nutritional value and ingredient safety. Founded in France in 2017, the app now serves 76 million users across 12 countries in 5 languages, with the United States as the largest market at 22 million users. Its database covers over 6 million products — 4 million food and 2 million cosmetic — with 1,200 new products added daily. At its core, Yuka has relied on Scandit's Barcode Scanner SDK for more than eight years to power the scanning experience at the heart of its mission.
Challenge
Yuka needed barcode scanning technology capable of handling tiny, damaged, or angled barcodes in real-world conditions: low light, glare, and environments densely packed with barcodes such as store shelves, pantries, and refrigerators. Before choosing Scandit, the team evaluated Apple's native iOS scanner, Google Firebase for Android, and multiple open-source solutions. All fell short. iOS and open-source options performed poorly on damaged codes in difficult lighting. Firebase was too slow and sensitive to device orientation. None could scale to hundreds of millions of daily scans with the reliability Yuka's users demanded.
Solution
Yuka integrated the Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK to deliver fast, accurate scanning across 20,000+ smart device models. The AI-powered context-aware scanning engine prevents unintentional scans in barcode-dense environments such as stores, pantries, and refrigerators. Smart duplicate filtering reliably distinguishes intentional scans from accidental rescans. When a barcode is damaged or covered by a sticker, OCR fallback activates automatically to ensure a frictionless experience regardless of code quality.
Why SCANDIT
Scandit's AI-driven scanning engine handles blurry, tilted, and damaged barcodes in challenging lighting conditions — consistently. Simple SDK integration shortened development timelines and accelerated time to market. Over eight years and more than 8 billion scans, the SDK has maintained perfect reliability with zero downtime incidents. Scandit continues to evolve its technology in lockstep with Yuka's growth, with deep focus on innovations that enhance real-world scanning performance.
Yuka's Mission: Decode Complex Labels in a Single Scan
For most shoppers, food and cosmetic labels are impenetrable. Yuka makes them instantly understandable.
"Sixty percent of food products in the market are bad for your health. Food and cosmetic labels are very complicated to decipher: huge amounts of information, hard-to-interpret facts, complex ingredient lists."
— Julie Chapon, Co-founder
A single scan returns an immediate verdict on a 0–100 scale, color-coded from red (Bad, 0–24) to dark green (Excellent, 75–100), alongside detailed ingredient analysis and recommendations for healthier alternatives.
Why Competitors Fell Short
Before committing to Scandit, Yuka rigorously tested every viable alternative.
"The iOS and open-source solutions didn't work well, especially in difficult or low-lighting conditions with damaged codes. Google Firebase didn't scan quickly, and device orientation negatively affected scanning. The Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK integration, by contrast, has been pretty easy — easy to implement, fast to develop. The stability and scalability have been a big help. We didn't have any problems."
— François Martin, CTO and Co-founder
Scanning Performance That Amazes Users
Speed and accuracy are non-negotiable when 76 million people rely on an app for daily purchasing decisions.
"Customers are amazed at the scan speed and phone performance. The barcode image might be blurry, but it still scans well. Scandit's context-aware AI engine helps eliminate unintentional scans in store, pantry, and fridge environments where barcodes are prevalent. Its smart duplicate filtering differentiates intended scans from accidental ones, and OCR as backup ensures frictionless scanning even when barcodes are damaged or covered by stickers."
— François Martin, CTO and Co-founder
Eight Years of Partnership
"For more than eight years, Scandit has been a key partner bringing our vision to life. Its Smart Data Capture capabilities remain unparalleled, meeting all our needs and users' needs."
— Julie Chapon, Co-founder
"Scandit's AI-driven data capture shows remarkable technical expertise and deep focus on innovations that enhance real-world scanning."
— François Martin, CTO and Co-founder
Yuka continues to expand its platform — adding features such as offline scanning mode, dietary preference alerts, and location-based product recommendations — with Scandit's SDK powering every scan along the way.
Impact
In 2024 alone, Yuka processed 2.7 billion scans — 85 every second. Since launch, the app has recorded 8.3 billion total scans. The impact extends beyond the app: 92% of users report buying fewer ultra-processed foods, and 88% feel healthier since using Yuka. Major manufacturers have responded — French retailer Intermarché reformulated 1,100 products and removed 142 additives after Yuka ratings influenced purchasing behavior. The app maintains a 4.8/5 rating on both the App Store (81,000 reviews) and Google Play (168,000 reviews).