Alma is ready to talk food.

The news: The startup launched an AI-powered nutrition app, leveraging natural language processing to simplify meal tracking and deliver personalized insights.

It also revealed an undisclosed investment from Menlo Ventures.

Smart tech. Instead of inputting every ingredient, Alma analyzes straightforward descriptions of meals from multimodal inputs like voice, text, images, and barcode scanning to log choices.

Expert insights. Tapping data from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and input from nutrition expert Dr. Eric Rimm, Alma combines clinical research with AI for evidence-based recommendations.

Pain point. Implementing dietary changes is challenging and, according to an Alma survey, most nutrition apps add burdensome steps.

• 95% of users quit nutrition apps because of poor usability, engagement, and accuracy.
• Only 21% stick with tracking for over a year.
• 42% want features beyond basic calorie counting.

Removing friction, Alma’s native AI aims to boost retention by making tracking intuitive while providing guidance beyond calories — suggesting recipes, products, and local restaurants.

Looking ahead: As AI capabilities expand, expect more digital health apps to prioritize natural interactions and personalization over rigid tracking requirements.