Confused at the Grocery Store?Ingredient1 App Is Here to Help
All photos courtesy of Ingredient1
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of options at the supermarket, take a deep breath — there’s now a free app for that. Ingredient1 promises to help sort through the noise and determine which products you actually want, narrowing down options by dietary choice, flavor preferences, allergens, and yes, ingredients.
“We’ve created a really sensible way to say, ‘I want non-GMO,’ or ‘I hate cilantro’, or ‘I don’t want high-fructose corn syrup,’ or ‘I want gluten-free,’ and then through that lens, find the best products for you,” said Ingredient1 founder Taryn Fixel, who launched the app last March.
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Fixel, a former journalist, came to the idea after years of struggling with stomach issues. She’d spend hours researching products’ ingredient lists and allergens, wishing there was a tool that did the work for her. But the eureka moment came two years ago.
“I met the founder of Amy’s Kitchen at a food show when I was still a journalist, and I didn’t know who he was,” Fixel recalled, referring to organic food company’s CEO, Andy Berliner. “He and I ended up speaking for 45 minutes about what [a potential app] would look like and what the problems were on the market. And at the end of the conversation he gave me a piece of paper with his name scribbled on it. He said, ‘If you decide to do this, give me a call.’”
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Amy’s Organics went on to become one of the 400 brands on Ingredient1, which altogether features more than 35,000 products. Most of them are organic and all-natural, but Fixel has dreams of including every single item found in the average supermarket.
Here’s how Ingredient1 works: Users new to the app are prompted to complete a profile that breaks down their allergies, dietary and nutrition preferences, and favorite ingredients. It then creates personalized hypothetical shopping lists based on these choices. There’s also an option to search products based on whatever you’re craving at the moment (sweet, crunchy, or organic).
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Every item is catalogued with in-depth ingredient and nutritional information. For instance, the profile for Gnosis’s Deeply Dark chocolate bar details its allergens (coconut, tree nut), certifications (USDA Certified Organic, Certified Organic, Certified Kosher, Certified Vegan), applicable diets (kosher, raw, organic, dairy free, GMO free, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian), and a nutrient breakdown.
“We want to remove the chaos from food,” Fixel said. “Just because you make a decision that might seem restrictive doesn’t mean that you’re cutting out good food. Food should still be fun and joyful.”
