Big Food manufacturers are facing growing pressure from the “Make American Healthy Again” movement to reformulate their products — but it’s not coming directly from Washington, D.C. or Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s desk
It’s consumers following MAHA guidance and using smartphone apps to get instant access to ingredient information and health ratings, which is gaining popularity across America.
Leading the charge is Yuka, a mobile app with an orange carrot icon that scans product barcodes and rates foods from 1 to 100 based on nutritional quality, additives, and organic status. The app has grown dramatically since entering the U.S. market in 2020, now ranking as Apple’s top health-and-fitness app with about 22 million American users and averaging 25,000 new U.S. sign-ups daily.
“Platforms like [Yuka] are going to have massive repercussions,” Jack McNamara, CEO of seltzer maker Tru, told the Wall Street Journal. His company is developing new versions with less or no sweeteners after Yuka rated their drinks “poor” (43-48 out of 100).
The movement has received a significant boost from Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., who publicly endorsed Yuka.
“I use Yuka. My wife uses it,” Kennedy said in late April, adding that HHS plans to encourage development of similar apps.
Kennedy’s MAHA initiative aligns with the consumer skepticism driving these apps’ adoption, though Yuka CEO Julie Chapon told WSJ her company isn’t officially affiliated with the movement.
Major brands are already feeling the impact. Chobani removed dipotassium phosphate from its oat milk products after Yuka flagged the synthetic emulsifier. “After two years of work, its oat milk recipe now contains only natural ingredients,” a Chobani spokesperson said, adding that the company “appreciates and encourages consumers’ feedback.”
Campbell’s has also reportedly responded to user complaints, though the company declined to comment for this story. Thousands of consumers have used Yuka’s feature that sends pre-drafted messages to food makers asking them to remove additives.
Not all companies are embracing the scrutiny. Conagra, whose Healthy Choice frozen meals received “poor” ratings for 12 of 16 products at a Chicago supermarket due to additives like sodium phosphate and carrageenan, defended its products as “among the healthiest in the category.”
“There are a lot of opinions out there,” Conagra CEO Sean Connolly told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the opinions that matter most to Conagra are those of its consumers.
Industry groups are also pushing back. The International Sweeteners’ Association, funded by PepsiCo, Mars Wrigley, and Coca-Cola, has criticized Yuka’s targeting of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, arguing that previous presidential administrations have claimed they’re safe.
Beyond Yuka, other popular food-scanning tools include Bobby Approved, Olive, and Seed Oil Scout, which helps users find restaurants that don’t cook with polyunsaturated seed oils. The Consumer Brands Association has created its own scanning tool called SmartLabel, which provides nutrition information without ratings or recommendations.
Chapon acknowledged there are limitations: “Yuka’s methodology isn’t perfect… nutrition is complex,” she said, noting the company is working to educate consumers more broadly.
Evidence from Europe suggests these apps can drive industry-wide changes.
In France, where Yuka launched in 2017, “the number of additives in food products declined as Yuka grew in popularity,” Chapon said. French supermarket chain Intermarché has reformulated more than 1,100 products and removed about 140 additives since 2019.
For consumers like Dendy Young, a 77-year-old entrepreneur, these apps are already changing shopping habits. Young told the Wall Street Journal he swore off Hellmann’s mayonnaise, which he “used to live on,” after Yuka rated it a 15 (“bad”) due to calcium disodium EDTA, a synthetic preservative.
As Chapon puts it, the app’s goal is “to equip consumers with information to drive manufacturers to improve products more quickly,” noting that “regulations can be very slow to change.”