Label Insight, a Chicago tech company that helps consumers know all the ingredients in their food, has raised $21 million in new funding.
Label Insight uses data science to bring transparency to food product labels to help people with allergies and dietary restrictions know exactly what they're putting in their body. The company, which launched in 2008 by brothers Anton and Dagan Xavier, works with retailers, consumer packaged goods companies and the U.S. government to create a database of product ingredients.
Label Insight says it has data on more than 80 percent of the top selling food, pet, and personal care items in the U.S., totaling over 400,000 products. Its customers include Unilever, Ben & Jerry's and PepsiCo. Its first customer was the Food and Drug Administration.
The idea is that a shopper with specific dietary needs can ask their grocer which brands of milk they should avoid, for example, and the grocer will be able to quickly assist them based on data provided by Label Insight.
The funding round was led by Delta-v Capital, with participation from River Cities Capital Funds. Label Insight has now raised more than $35 million to date.
Label Insight said it will use the funding to hire more data scientists and continue product development.
"The breadth and versatility of our data powers many different applications across a spectrum of businesses, which sets us apart from any other player in the space," Label Insight CEO Paul Schaut said in a statement. "This infusion of capital will enable us to continue to innovate our data science capabilities and deliver new products and features to our customers, driving new avenues for growth and increased market share."
