This episode of Food for Thought Leadership features Julie Chapon, CEO and co-founder of Yuka, the fast-growing app that helps consumers better understand the health impact of food and cosmetic products. Chapon shares the origin story of Yuka, which began as a personal mission to decode confusing food labels and has since expanded into a global platform with over 80 million users. The conversation explores how the app works, its commitment to independence from advertising and manufacturers, and its dual mission: empowering consumers to make healthier choices while pushing brands toward product reformulation. The discussion also dives into Yuka’s research on the U.S. food system, highlighting how lower-cost processed foods often contain significantly more additives, sugar, and salt—raising concerns about the link between income and access to healthier options. Chapon explains how consumer distrust, misleading packaging claims, and the “health halo” effect contribute to confusion at the shelf. The episode closes with a look at Yuka’s advocacy tools, including its “call-out” feature, and how collective consumer pressure is already driving meaningful change in product formulations across markets. More about Julie Chapon: Julie Chapon is co-founder of Yuka, an independent mobile app that helps 80 million consumers worldwide evaluate the health impact of food and cosmetic products. A specialist in making complex nutrition science accessible to the public, she is best-selling co-author of The Guide to Healthy Eating, translated into three languages, and writes for the Yuka Blog, which reaches over 3 million readers monthly. In recognition of her work, Chapon was decorated as Knight of France’s National Order of Merit by the President of France. Her insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Elle, with television appearances on NBC, Bloomberg, CBS, and Fox News. About Yuka Founded in 2017, Yuka is an entirely independent impact project. The app lets users scan the barcodes of food and cosmetic products to assess their health impact, with the aim of bringing more transparency to product composition and empowering consumers to make better choices for their health. Today, the app has over 80 million users worldwide, including 25 million in the United States. https://yuka.io/en/ Harvard x Yuka Report: https://yuka.io/en/report-food-price-composition-us/ Additives Report: https://yuka.io/en/problem-food-additives-us/
