INVESTMENT
Kilkenny food labelling firm raises cash
17-04-2003
by John Cradden
A Kilkenny firm is accelerating the development of its food labelling information technology following a significant private equity deal.
Product Inform has been working on an electronic food-labelling service that will provide up-to-date comprehensive information on food products to consumers with specific dietary needs via a handheld device as they shop for food.
A significant investment in the region of EUR200,000 from a private investor has enabled the company to speed up its progress towards becoming one of the first firms to market such food labelling technology.
The company had initially envisaged selling the device to supermarkets to provide as a service to its customers in-store, but this business model has since been revised to target the service directly at individuals and families with specific dietary needs. These needs may be related to things like food allergies, diabetes, celiac and eczema sufferers and heart disease.
Product Inform chief executive officer Keith Bohanna told ElectricNews.Net that the idea of selling the service to supermarkets was too complicated and many chains were reluctant to invest in something that would "not directly impact on their bottom lines."
The company believes there is a significant market of consumers around the world who are very concerned about what they eat and have specific dietary needs, but find that information on food labels is hard to understand.
As part of the planned trials to take place from October, 50 individuals in Dublin and the South East will be using the service over a period of six months, which is accessed through a minute scanning device linked to a Bluetooth-enabled PDA. Using the device, they will be able to obtain information quickly and conveniently by simply scanning the product barcode and better assess the suitability of the product for consumption.
The trials will be run conjunction with the Centre for Health Behaviour Research based in Waterford Institute of Technology. "The centre, with their experience in working on preventative health initiatives with the health boards, will be a valuable partner for Product Inform and will provide a credible source of external validation," said Bohanna.
Bohanna says the trials are not concerned with the technology, which is said to be proven, but more with gauging the viability of an annual subscription service aimed directly at consumers with specific dietary needs. If successful, the company will begin a second round of funding aimed at raising EUR3.5 million. The initial target market will be the US.
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