WISEcode Challenges Industry Norms with AI-Driven Food Transparency

For decades, food brands relied on packaging, shelf placement, and advertising budgets to capture market share. WISEcode founder and CEO Peter Castleman suggests that era is ending. By leveraging artificial intelligence to decode ingredient data, the company aims to bridge the gap between what consumers need to know and what is currently hidden on labels. Castleman likens this transition to the arrival of the microprocessor, noting that the industry is at a generational inflection point where the ground is shifting beneath incumbents.

To facilitate this change, WISEcode has launched the UPF Detector, a free application that allows consumers to scan barcodes to determine if a product is ultra-processed. This tool serves as the consumer-facing front for a larger data infrastructure. For brands, the company offers the Non-UPF Shield, a certification program intended to help products that meet specific health standards stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Castleman emphasizes that the initiative is less about software and more about establishing a new standard of transparency, pushing the industry toward a race to the top rather than a battle of marketing spend.