October 19, 2015

U.S.-based ShopWell Labs Inc. announced it has closed on a $3.4 million round of fundraising led by Finistere Ventures, and also including Fairhaven Capital, Munich Venture Partners, S2G Ventures, and ATA Ventures.

ShopWell is a free, personalized app for retail food shoppers that helps health-conscious consumers make more informed purchasing decisions. Based on a user’s age, gender, food allergies, health goals, and health conditions, ShopWell can instantly evaluate over 300,000 food items in its database and can recommend ‘better for you’ alternatives either within a particular grocery store or nearby.

One third of shoppers are using apps to help them shop for food, and more than 70% of consumers no longer rely on direct retailer communication to learn about new products, according to a study conducted by Deloitte. The study also found that by the end of this year, the use of digital tools will influence 64% of point of sale decisions. Eighty six percent of people surveyed for a 2015 American Pantry Study stated that they wanted “convenient options that are also healthy”, while 47% describe themselves as ‘health conscious’ and 35% describe themselves as being ‘ingredient sensitive’. But, the retail landscape is rapidly evolving, with a myriad of food choices, changing nutritional guidelines, and often contradictory marketing campaigns. ShopWell help consumers streamline this abundance of information, easing the shopping experience.

ShopWell not only helps consumers obtain real time science-based nutritional advice, but is also able to provide retailers, food manufacturers, and processors insight into what consumers are looking for in their food purchases – knowledge that can help the industry cater their offerings and personalized consumer engagement programs to better meet consumer demand resulting in greater consumer loyalty.

ShopWell has over 2 million users and makes over 10,000 food recommendations per day in 137,000 stores, or over 90% of U.S. grocery retailers, and the company is already in talks with major retailers and other partners regarding the further integration of its technology. This round of early-stage fundraising brings its total funds raised to $11.4 million, which the company will allocate to funding its continued growth as consumers, food manufacturers, and retailers all rapidly evolve to gain a healthier share of a shifting marketplace.