Verdify granted US$2.6M to scale sustainable and personalized nutrition tech
24 Jan 2024 --- Dutch food tech company Verdify is set to receive €2.4 million (US$2.6 million) in funding from existing and new investors, including Goeie Grutten Impact Fund, Oost NL, Koppert Cress and De Smaakmaker. Verdify’s personalized nutritional platform aims to optimize meal compositions based on individual health and sustainability factors.
“We are already validating clinical studies in multiple countries. We plan to roll out in selected healthcare clinics and hospitals throughout Europe. The recent investments allow for hiring the required talent for regulatory and commercialization,” Jochem Bossenbroek, CEO of Verdify, tells Nutrition Insight.
“The Verdify software can identify ingredients in a recipe, determine which are swappable, check the compatibility with user needs, health and sustainability factors, swap non-matching items with alternatives, control quality, taste and nutrition and regenerate the cooking instructions.”
Optimizing meal compositions
Bossenbroek points to individual health and sustainability-specific features of Verdify’s software that set it apart. “For example, the software can be used to adapt a recipe for someone with high blood pressure by swapping ingredients that are high sodium for low sodium alternatives while checking for taste preferences of a person.”
“This way, we can generate a wealth of meal inspiration, even for people with challenging dietary needs. This is a big advantage over filtering in a recipe database, where generally 90% of all content is filtered out, and few options are left,” he explains.
Verdify’s retail “swap technology” aims to promote a gradual shift toward more sustainable and healthier eating patterns through easy product swaps. “Verdify will provide the software as a service to these companies, so they can implement it on their platforms, to be used by their target audience. This not only results in relevant collaborations but also allows nudging the millions of customers of these companies toward better food choices.”
“With every bite that we take, we can have an impact on our personal health and the health of our planet. As consumers, we have a tremendous impact on the choices made upstream in the food chain, from farm to fork. Therefore, we believe that consumers should be stimulated, at large scale, to choose healthier and more sustainable food products,” Bossenbroek asserts.
For this reason, Verdify plans to introduce “swap” buttons on its 40 already active recipe websites. One click would allow the consumer to see the vegetarian or lower-carbon version of a particular recipe. “This concept got us an award in Carrefour’s Plant-Based Challenge,” shares Bossenbroek.
“Such a shift in demand will channel down to production agendas and even R&D roadmaps of food companies. In the end, they produce what the consumer desires to purchase. If that’s aligned with planetary health goals, we reach a sweet spot for impactful food choices.”
“Therefore, Verdify designs software that can support better food choices for personal and planetary health — reaching impact by applying it in healthcare and retail,” he highlights.
NooryMed aims to integrate into medical workflows, addressing numerous patient parameters, such as type of treatment, blood markers and food drug interactions, among others.Tackling breast cancer and obesity
The new investments will allow the company to introduce its NooryMed platform targeting breast cancer and obesity. The application is currently undergoing testing alongside pharmaceutical company Roche as a complementary tool in breast cancer treatment.
“Although the scientific evidence on the potential of nutrition in cancer care is crystal clear, oncologists today make little use of this know-how. Research shows they are motivated but lack the tools and time to suggest tailored meal plans to patients. In addition, patient adherence to nutrition plans generally wanes over time,” Bossenbroek points out.
“NooryMed stands out by seamlessly integrating into medical workflows, addressing numerous patient parameters — type of treatment, blood markers and food drug interactions, among others — ensuring sustained patient engagement through motivational endorsement.”
Bossenbroek states that maintaining a good nutritional status can counter the negative effects of malnutrition during treatments, which he points out is experienced by more than 70% of patients. “This entails decreased toxicity of anticancer treatments, fewer interruptions of scheduled treatment, and fewer days spent in hospital.”
He explains that NooryMed can contribute to a good nutritional status by providing daily meal plans that take into account the constraints entered by the oncologist or dietitian and the side effects a patient may be experiencing.
“If someone suddenly dislikes the taste of pizza, whereas previously it was a weekly treat with the kids, this means pizza does not get lost as an option because our system generates alternative compositions that are still perceived as tasty.”
By Milana Nikolova
