Nutrition app maker ShopWell Labs, Inc. has raised $3.4 million Series C in a round led by Finistere Ventures that included Fairhaven Capital, Munich Venture Partners, S2G Ventures, and ATA Ventures.

Founded in 2008, ShopWell offers an app and complimentary website that recommends foods to people based on their dietary needs and helps them build healthy grocery lists.

The app allows users to scan a food’s barcode or type the product name into the app to get nutritional information and find out if the food is right for them based on a number of factors, including dietary restrictions such as allergies or foodstuffs they may have to avoid for other medical reasons.

In assessing what types of food are bad, good or somewhere in between, ShopWell utilizes an algorithm that calculates personalized scores for food items to make recommendations; the service is currently able to evaluate over 300,000 items and is able to recommend “better-for-you” alternatives, in a particular grocery store or nearby.

Described by the company as giving users their “own personal nutrition coach” the app, available on both iOS and Android, has over two million users and has been used in more than 137,000 stores.

“The importance of making smarter food choices in managing some chronic disorders and in reaching health goals is recognized by most consumers,” Finistere Ventures Partner Spencer Maughan said in a statement sent to SiliconANGLE. “In turn, this is impacting how food is grown, how it is sold and even how health insurance companies are evaluating wellness programs. ShopWell is the only mobile platform that provides personalized nutritional information in-store to consumers so that they have a digital nutrition partner.”

Well-positioned

The utility of the ShopWell app comes at a time where people are becoming more aware of the need to eat healthier food, even as American obesity rates are hitting record highs.

Add to this the rising prevalence of allergies as well and the need for more and more people to avoid things like peanuts, Shopwell provides yet an additional service, making the company well positioned to cater for multiple rising issues and concerns.

They certainly are not the first type of app in this space, but they’ve gone about it the right way in making sure what they are providing is legitimate advice by way of being certified by Registered Dietitians, as well as being a Community Partner of the USDA.

Including the new round, ShopWell has raised $11.4 million to-date.

The company said it would use the new funding to support its continued growth as consumers, retailers and food manufacturers respond to the increasing demand for healthy food.

Image credit: ShopWell.