Now you can click, scan to see the hidden truth about packaged food
Wondering how healthy the newly launched packet of millet pasta is and straining to read the fine print in the ingredient list? Fret not. Just download an app that can spill all you need to know about the product with just one scan.
And if it's not as good as it promises to be, the app can also suggest better options — all tailored to your dietary needs.
X-Ray vision
With the packaged food boom in India and a parallel health food revolution, nutrition scanner apps have gained ground as reliable guides to keep health-conscious consumers on track. These are also a handy tool for those with specific dietary needs (keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegan and the works) as well as those with chronic health conditions (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, allergies).
All you need to do is provide your basics (height, weight, food preferences, allergies, diseases) and the app tells you if a particular packaged food is a good choice for you or not.
'Everyone wants cleaner options — but they're met with false claims, diet fads, and influencer noise. That's where we come in. We help people make better choices, one scan at a time — whether they're avoiding harmful ingredients, managing a condition, or just want to know what's in their 'gluten-free quinoa cookies',' says Akshaye Jalan, founder of Xume which launched in 2023 and claims to be backed by doctors, nutritionists and AI experts.
There are others like TruthIn, Chuki and FactsScan too. Many international nutrition scanner apps are also available in India, such as FoodSwitch India, MyFitnessPal and Yuka. According to a report by investment banking services firm Avendus Capital, India is the world's fastest growing health foods market, with health-conscious spenders expected to grow from 108 million in 2020 to 176 million by 2026. All these apps aim to target this set of customers.
Reading between the lines
It was founder and CEO Ravi Teja Putrevu's rare diagnosis of acromegaly — a hormonal disorder leading to excess growth hormone production and making one more vulnerable to diabetes and heart disease — that gave birth to the TruthIn app. 'I realised the 'health claims' on many products were misleading, and worsened my risks. For instance, a product having '0% added sugar' doesn't really mean 'diabetes-friendly' as added sugars are just one part of the insulin spike story.
Ingredients like maltodextrin (a highly processed white powder made from corn, rice, wheat or potato starch) can cause an even greater insulin spike than white sugar,' says Putrevu. The app has 10 nutritionists on board.
The TruthIn algorithm tells you the level of processing — additives, total sugars, added sugars and sodium, apart from macros like saturated fat, trans fat, protein and carbs. 'The rating is followed by an overview highlighting concerns and positives.
Users can also view the product's entire nutritional profile and map it to the recommended dietary allowance percentage a given serving size can fulfil,' the CEO adds.
Like Xume, TruthIn also has custom features for people with diabetes, obesity, allergies and other conditions that demand a diet restriction, offering alternatives. A fair chunk of the user base for most of these apps is under 30, which Jalan feels is a good sign as early awareness creates lifelong impact.
But how many unsavoury truths do the apps reveal? 'Plenty,' says Jalan, 'From Jains discovering crushed beetles in candies to parents shocked by hidden sugars in baby food. A primary school uses Xume during show-and-tell, teaching kids to spot red (avoid) and green (go) labels. A health coach helped his tribe reduce sugar, while a microbiologist now uses Xume to identify inflammation-causing ingredients for clients.
'
How accurate are the scans?
Often, the same product is given quite different ratings by two different apps. For instance, a mini millet nippattu (like a mathri) rated 2.7 (okay) by TruthIn gets a score of 65/100 (good) in Chuki. How can the consumer get the right picture? Putrevu says it's because nutritional information is still not standardised in packaged food across the country. 'Labels vary widely in format — some use tables, others have infographics or text blocks — which can hinder data extraction for apps like TruthIn.
India could benefit from uniform labelling practices that would help consumers make informed dietary choices, and enable better compliance monitoring and consumer trust,' he adds.
Jalan couldn't agree more. 'Brands disguise ingredients or vaguely label them. Misleading the consumer should have consequences. With growing awareness, we're moving that way,' he says. But some of it also depends on the parameters different apps are using (some focus on calories, some on ingredients, others on the amount of processing, or palm oil, cane sugar or harmful additives used) to assess each product, which should also be standardised for optimal results.
One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
3 days ago
- India Today
How a new breed of platforms is helping Indians eat smarter
While shopping at a supermarket these days, what do you find most challenging? Choosing what's healthy, right?And why is it challenging? Thanks to misleading brand packaging, everything seems healthy these days. Some products make big claims about their protein content, while others proudly advertise being free of refined flour or "baked, not fried." Some even go as far as claiming they're sugar-free or contain no chemical is the fastest-growing health food market, expanding at a 20 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), which is three times the global average. It's set to become a $30 billion market opportunity by 2026. What's driving that growth? Of course, the post-pandemic wave of health and wellness awareness plays a big role. But where does this leave brands trying to position their products in the market? Well, not in limbo, if anything, this gives them a golden opportunity to market products with a 'healthy' tagline. Because let's face it: that for 'aam customers' like us, it's a big challenge telling the good from the bad, what's actually true to its name, and what's just a marketing that is exactly where platforms like TruthIn and Pink Tiger by You Care Lifestyle are making a lie behind the labeladvertisementRavi Putrevu, the founder of TruthIn knows the game all too well. Diagnosed with Acromegaly, a rare condition that made him high-risk for diabetes and heart disease, Ravi was forced into label-reading long before it became trendy. But even then, 'understanding what was safe or not felt like decoding hieroglyphics,' he with co-founder and doctor Aman Basheer Sheikh, he built TruthIn, an app that functions like a nutritionist with trust issues. You scan a product's barcode and instantly get its TruthIn rating, ingredient breakdown, potential red flags, and even whether it aligns with your personal health goals (yes, it knows if you're diabetic, hypertensive, or just sugar-wary).Now, if you thought it was a bot spewing one truth bomb after the other, you are wrong. Behind the interface is a team of doctors, nutritionists, and data scientists decoding India's most loved (and most dubious) packaged foods in real time. The TruthIn app rates different food items based on how healthy they are. The Pink Tiger stampMeanwhile, wellness heavyweight Luke Coutinho found himself asking a different kind of question. He is a pretty well-known name in the health and wellness industry and while working with thousands of people on lifestyle and nutrition goals, he would find himself asking the same questions: Which supplement can we recommend without second-guessing? Which ghee won't sneak in hidden preservatives?advertisementThat's how Pink Tiger, a stamp of trust that now shows up on verified clean products across the You Care Lifestyle platform, was born. Think of it as the clean label equivalent of a blue tick, but only harder to earn.'We're not trying to gatekeep,' Luke says. 'We're just giving consumers a standard they can finally rely on.' To get the Pink Tiger seal, a product goes through three rounds of scrutiny, from ingredient audits to independent lab testing. Fail at any step, and you're out. The stamp ensures only the safest, healthiest, and highest-quality products make the cut. And these are not the only players in the market. There are other apps like Food Scan Genius, FactsScan and Trustified that actually understand the pain point of an ordinary customer and help them simplify want to make better choicesadvertisementEven when picking up a bag of atta comes with its own set of challenges, as there are contenders – some offering benefits of multigrain while others endorsing it as organic. So, the confusion is not which one is better and if anything is worth buying at to TruthIn, the most searched items include Maggi, ice cream, paneer, biscuits, and peanut butter. 'People aren't just looking for the 'healthiest' option,' Ravi explains. 'They want to make better choices about the everyday stuff they're already eating.'Search terms like high protein, palm oil free, and low added sugar dominate. Meanwhile, Pink Tiger has noticed spikes in staple-based searches: ghee, oils, flour, and turmeric, things we once assumed were safe by shows a major cultural shift. We're not just worried about what we consume, we're actively cross-examining everyone seems thrilled, thoughWhen asked if they faced any pushback from companies whose products were flagged, this is what Ravi Putrevu says: 'Some brands see TruthIn as a platform to showcase their clean-label products and reach out to onboard their products. Others sometimes ask us to provide clarification. Our approach is transparent, and we share the basis for every rating clearly.'advertisement'A lot of time and research has gone into developing the TruthIn Rating system. It's patented, and we're now open-sourcing it so that experts and researchers can review, challenge, and help improve it further,' he reiterates that their ultimate aim is to help consumers make informed choices.'We're not against any brand in particular, we're pro-consumer. We want to work with everyone to make information clearer and drive better transparency across the board.'So, what's next?Both platforms are going beyond food. TruthIn is already beta-testing label analysis in beauty and personal care, with filters that decode parabens and pH levels as easily as it does sodium and Tiger is gearing up for retail visibility, think dedicated shelves in stores that showcase verified products with their signature stamp. Like Sephora's 'Clean at Sephora,' but made for Indian in a time when being 'label-conscious' risks being another fleeting trend, these two are betting on habit as Ravi puts it, 'We're building an X-ray for consumer products.' And right now, India's pantry could use one. advertisement
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
Now you can click, scan to see the hidden truth about packaged food
Wondering how healthy the newly launched packet of millet pasta is and straining to read the fine print in the ingredient list? Fret not. Just download an app that can spill all you need to know about the product with just one scan. And if it's not as good as it promises to be, the app can also suggest better options — all tailored to your dietary needs. X-Ray vision With the packaged food boom in India and a parallel health food revolution, nutrition scanner apps have gained ground as reliable guides to keep health-conscious consumers on track. These are also a handy tool for those with specific dietary needs (keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegan and the works) as well as those with chronic health conditions (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, allergies). All you need to do is provide your basics (height, weight, food preferences, allergies, diseases) and the app tells you if a particular packaged food is a good choice for you or not. 'Everyone wants cleaner options — but they're met with false claims, diet fads, and influencer noise. That's where we come in. We help people make better choices, one scan at a time — whether they're avoiding harmful ingredients, managing a condition, or just want to know what's in their 'gluten-free quinoa cookies',' says Akshaye Jalan, founder of Xume which launched in 2023 and claims to be backed by doctors, nutritionists and AI experts. There are others like TruthIn, Chuki and FactsScan too. Many international nutrition scanner apps are also available in India, such as FoodSwitch India, MyFitnessPal and Yuka. According to a report by investment banking services firm Avendus Capital, India is the world's fastest growing health foods market, with health-conscious spenders expected to grow from 108 million in 2020 to 176 million by 2026. All these apps aim to target this set of customers. Reading between the lines It was founder and CEO Ravi Teja Putrevu's rare diagnosis of acromegaly — a hormonal disorder leading to excess growth hormone production and making one more vulnerable to diabetes and heart disease — that gave birth to the TruthIn app. 'I realised the 'health claims' on many products were misleading, and worsened my risks. For instance, a product having '0% added sugar' doesn't really mean 'diabetes-friendly' as added sugars are just one part of the insulin spike story. Ingredients like maltodextrin (a highly processed white powder made from corn, rice, wheat or potato starch) can cause an even greater insulin spike than white sugar,' says Putrevu. The app has 10 nutritionists on board. The TruthIn algorithm tells you the level of processing — additives, total sugars, added sugars and sodium, apart from macros like saturated fat, trans fat, protein and carbs. 'The rating is followed by an overview highlighting concerns and positives. Users can also view the product's entire nutritional profile and map it to the recommended dietary allowance percentage a given serving size can fulfil,' the CEO adds. Like Xume, TruthIn also has custom features for people with diabetes, obesity, allergies and other conditions that demand a diet restriction, offering alternatives. A fair chunk of the user base for most of these apps is under 30, which Jalan feels is a good sign as early awareness creates lifelong impact. But how many unsavoury truths do the apps reveal? 'Plenty,' says Jalan, 'From Jains discovering crushed beetles in candies to parents shocked by hidden sugars in baby food. A primary school uses Xume during show-and-tell, teaching kids to spot red (avoid) and green (go) labels. A health coach helped his tribe reduce sugar, while a microbiologist now uses Xume to identify inflammation-causing ingredients for clients. ' How accurate are the scans? Often, the same product is given quite different ratings by two different apps. For instance, a mini millet nippattu (like a mathri) rated 2.7 (okay) by TruthIn gets a score of 65/100 (good) in Chuki. How can the consumer get the right picture? Putrevu says it's because nutritional information is still not standardised in packaged food across the country. 'Labels vary widely in format — some use tables, others have infographics or text blocks — which can hinder data extraction for apps like TruthIn. India could benefit from uniform labelling practices that would help consumers make informed dietary choices, and enable better compliance monitoring and consumer trust,' he adds. Jalan couldn't agree more. 'Brands disguise ingredients or vaguely label them. Misleading the consumer should have consequences. With growing awareness, we're moving that way,' he says. But some of it also depends on the parameters different apps are using (some focus on calories, some on ingredients, others on the amount of processing, or palm oil, cane sugar or harmful additives used) to assess each product, which should also be standardised for optimal results. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Time of India
Medibuddy eyes $130 million in pre-IPO
Health-tech firm Medibuddy is looking to raise $130 million in a pre-IPO round, said people familiar with the matter. It has engaged Avendus Capital as an adviser for the fundraise. Medibuddy was founded by IIT Madras alumni Satish Kannan and Enbasekar Dinadayalane. Its shareholders include a Liechtenstein royal family fund and Quadria Capital , among others. The fund raise has attracted prominent Indian and global private equity firms, as per those familiar with the matter. The health tech firm matches patients with doctors, hospitals and diagnostic service providers. However, in response to ET's email query, the company said it is not planning a $130 million pre-IPO round. "I'd like to clarify that the information outlined in your email is factually incorrect," Medibuddy said in a statement. "We have launched a structured fundraise process , led by Avendus Capital, with a target of $60 million. This includes $25-30 million in primary capital and $30-35 million in secondary, intended solely to provide a standard exit opportunity for a few early angel investors." Medibuddy also said it was not in a hurry for an IPO. "An IPO is certainly part of our long-term vision, as it is for many companies at our stage. We will actively inform you when we plan to move in that direction. For now, our focus remains on building a profitable, scalable and sustainable healthcare market leader that delivers long-term value for all stakeholders," it said.
