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We spoke with Brendan Benson, senior project manager at Cronometer, to find out more about the company and its project.
Q: Please explain what your company does and how your products are improving the food industry?
A: Cronometer is a nutrition tracking app that prides itself on being the most accurate and comprehensive tracker on the market today. Unlike our competitors, we primarily source our nutrition data from lab-analyzed sources such as the NCCDB or USDA. Users can enter what they eat and drink into the app, and in exchange, we supply nutrition information on up to 84 different nutrients from protein to choline – all free of charge. Cronometer can be used by anyone on any diet and is often leveraged to ensure adequate nutritional intake.
Legally, food production companies are not required to print an exhaustive list of every nutrient on their nutrition labels. Although each branded product entry in our database is verified by a staff member, missing nutrition information on the label itself can lead to less accurate data. We are continually developing features and algorithms to try to fill that gap. For example, we recently released a feature that we like to call “Better Alternative Backfill,” which is an algorithm that takes nutrition data from packaged nutrition labels, finds a similar entry from our more comprehensive, lab-analyzed database and automatically fills in the missing nutrient information.
Q: What is your company’s mission?
A: Our mission at Cronometer is to help millions of people improve their health by empowering them to track, measure and learn, delivering the best data and tools to accomplish this.
Q: Why did you apply for this funding and how will you use it?
A: We applied for CFIN booster funding to help cover the cost of a strategically important R&D project called AI Food Suggestions. The goal of the project is to replace our outdated Food Suggestion feature in our mobile and web app with an AI-powered Food Suggestion feature. The feature will generate personalized suggestions to help users meet their remaining calorie and nutrient targets for the day. Food Suggestions will be generated based on recently logged foods, selected filters, and user inputs.
Q: What excites you most about working in this area of the food industry?
A: At Cronometer we like to think of ourselves as nutrition data nerds. We are excited about supplying our users with personalized, accurate data and appreciate the power that these insights can hold. New Artificial Intelligence technology has opened up even more possibilities to have a positive impact on our users’ health and wellbeing and we can’t wait to make it even easier to make healthy and informed decisions.
Q: Why is collaboration so important for accelerating innovation in the food industry? Is it difficult to find good collaborating partners, and what would make the process easier?
A: Fostering collaboration is essential to driving innovation in the Canadian food industry. We have many different partnerships ranging from collaborations with local doctors and dietitians to wearable device partners like Garmin and WHOOP. These partnerships are key in helping us offer a holistic health tracking approach centered around nutrition.
Despite the challenges in forging partnerships within a competitive market, we utilize conferences, academic connections, and professional networks to identify aligned collaborators. Having established communities and organizations like the Canadian Food Innovation Network makes it easier to connect with other industry leaders based in Canada.
Q: Please comment on the importance of public funding to help companies clear innovation hurdles and access leveraged funds.
A: In the competitive landscape of health and nutrition tracking technology, public funding is key for Cronometer to navigate innovation challenges and propel our growth. We compete in a crowded space made up of American companies that are supported by heavily funded venture capital firms. Public funding has helped us grow the team and pursue innovative R&D projects that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.
Q: Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for your company?
A: Looking ahead, Cronometer is poised to redefine the landscape of nutritional insights. We are focused on harnessing the power of AI to provide our users with personalized, actionable nutrition advice tailored to their unique health goals and dietary preferences.
As these AI-driven features and services evolve, Cronometer is set to become not just a tool for tracking, but an intelligent personal nutrition assistant, helping Canadians and users worldwide achieve their health and wellness objectives with unprecedented precision and ease.
Q: What are your passions or hobbies outside of work?
A: With our headquarters located in the small-town of Revelstoke, BC we have endless options for staying active. Our team enjoys skiing and boarding during the winter months and group bike rides and climbing during the summer!
Q: If you had to pick one person to make you a meal, who would you choose?