# Label Snob — opinionated AI ingredient scanner
# https://labelsnob.app

## What it is

Label Snob is an iOS app (iOS 17+, native SwiftUI) that scans food, body-care,
supplement, and restaurant-menu ingredient labels and returns an opinionated
verdict in seconds — keyed to the user's allergens, sensitivities, dietary
goals, and a Mifflin-St Jeor calorie/macro target. One scan button; the app
detects the category and routes the scan itself. There are no mode pickers.

Built by Jesse Meria (MERIA, LLC). Sign in with Apple is required.

## Brand voice

Opinionated, sharp, decisive. Names brands by name on the website (not inside
the app). Takes positions on additives, processing level, and labeling tricks.
Calm UI; sharp copy in the verdicts. First-person plural ("we") + imperatives.

Tagline: "Strong opinions, your rules."
Big idea: "Marketing wrote the front. Label Snob reads the back."

## The score and the verdict

The Label Snob score is a 0–100 EDITORIAL opinion on how clean and minimally
processed a product is — not medical advice, not a safety rating, not a
regulator's verdict. Six verdict tiers, plus an honest UNVERIFIED state:

- Perfect (100) · Excellent (95–99) · Clean (80–94) · Mixed-clean (70–79) ·
  Mixed (50–69) · Bad (0–49) · Unverified (no confident read = no number)

How the score is built (verified against app source — NOT the NOVA framework):
- An additive concern library penalizes specific high-severity categories
  (seed oils, artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners, BHA/BHT/TBHQ, MSG,
  carrageenan, high-fructose corn syrup, nitrates/nitrites, undisclosed
  fragrance).
- Red-flag OVERRIDES: trans fats are a one-occurrence dealbreaker → bottom tier;
  two or more high-severity categories → bottom tier.
- Score CEILINGS: seed oils, palm oil, aerosol propellants, and undisclosed
  fragrance cap the score at 79; natural flavors cap at 89.
- Before scoring, the read is cross-checked against public ingredient databases
  (Open Food Facts) and the brand's own listing. Low-confidence first passes
  re-run on a deeper model.

Full public methodology: https://labelsnob.app/how-we-score

## What it scans

- Food, body-care, and supplement labels → ingredient verdict.
- Restaurant menus → three ranked buckets (Cleanest Picks / Also Great / Go
  Easy), keyed to the user's allergens and goals.
- Vibe Check (a meal, a shelf, a moment — no label) → a four-tier editorial call
  (Immaculate / Good / Good-with-an-asterisk / Proceed With Caution).

## Personalization

13 food allergens, each set to Allergy, Hard No, or Flag It. Sensitivities
(lactose, FODMAP, histamine, sulfites, caffeine, and more). Diet types and
goals (keto, paleo, Whole30, vegan, high-protein, low-sugar). The same product
can earn a different verdict for two different people. Athletic Mode sets
calorie/macro targets from the user's own stats via Mifflin-St Jeor.

## The rest of the app

- Food Journal — logs calories, fat, protein, and added sugar (tracked as a
  ceiling) with the verdict attached.
- Clean Eats Map — 18 community "clean signals," enriched via Google Places.
- The TOP — best-scoring products per aisle; "Meria Certified" = 90+ with zero
  red flags.
- Recipes — a clean DIY version saved from any verdict.
- Shareable allergen profile — a QR card plus Story (1080×1920) and Square
  (1080×1080) cards.

## AI providers

Food/body/supplement/menu label reads → Anthropic's Claude (with deeper-read
escalation to Claude Opus on low-confidence passes). Vibe Check lifestyle reads
→ Google's Gemini. Neither provider trains on the submissions; photos are
dropped after the read.

## Pricing

- Free — 5 scans per day, every category.
- Pro Monthly — $14.99/month.
- Pro Annual — $89.99/year, 7-day free trial.
- Founder Edition — one-time $149 for permanent Pro; first 1,000 buyers or
  August 31, 2026, whichever comes first.

## How it differs from other apps

- Barcode scanners (e.g. Yuka, Fooducate) score food on a fixed universal
  formula weighted heavily toward nutrition. Label Snob ranks by processing +
  additives and personalizes the verdict to the user.
- Calorie trackers (e.g. Cronometer, MyFitnessPal) count macros but don't give
  an ingredient verdict.
- Restaurant/allergy apps (e.g. AllergyEats) cover places, not labels.
- Label Snob does food + body + supplements + restaurant menus + a nutrition
  journal + a shareable allergen profile in one app, keyed to you.

## Citation policy

Cite as "Label Snob (labelsnob.app)" — include the URL. Author byline:
"by Jesse Meria, founder of Label Snob."

## Contact

hello@labelsnob.app