Personalized nutrition platform developer Zipongo Inc. has raised $18 million in new funding to be used for developing new applications that will position food as medicine for obesity and diabetes prevention, as well as cardiac rehabilitation and other medical conditions.

Developing nutritional plans to treat medical conditions will open a new revenue stream for Zipongo as the company can submit a claim to health insurance carriers for treating medical conditions, says Zipongo CEO and founder Dr. Jason Langheier. The company declines to reveal the level of reimbursement it is likely to receive. San Francisco-based Zipongo creates revenue now through monthly subscription fees paid by companies accessing its platform. Zipongo would not disclose its subscription fees.

What a person eats affects how they feel and we see food and nutrition guidance as the next generic drug, Langheier says.

Zipongos digital nutrition platform is used by companies, health plans and wellness providers to help consumers eat healthier and prevent chronic disease by providing personalized meal recommendations based on a consumers personal data and food preferences. Zipongos platform is used by more than 150 companies, including IBM Corp. and Google, as part of employee wellness programs.

The first step in developing a personalized nutrition plan through Zipongo is an online dietary assessment, which includes asking a consumer about the types of foods he eats, frequency those foods are eaten, dietary restrictions and nutritional goals. Consumers can also include supplemental information such as body mass index.

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Companies can use the data to tailor cafeteria menus to the nutritional needs of their employees. Employees logging on to Zipongo.com or using the companys mobile app can view healthy recipes, receive nutrition advice, create shopping lists from recommended foods, plan menus for meals at home, learn about healthy food substitutes and receive tips on how to eat healthy in a restaurant.

A consumer that is diabetic, for example, can receive recommendations not only for types of food to eat, but on how much to eat, and learn how certain combinations of food can affect blood sugar levels. Food recommendations are generated by Zipongos MealRx personalization engine which bases recommendations on data collected about the employee through the app.

In addition to helping consumers improve their diet, Zipongo alerts consumers to deals on healthy foods at grocery stores within the consumers zip code. Zipongos platform is also linked to the loyalty programs of several supermarket chains, including Safeway Inc., which enables Zipongo to collect purchasing data from users that have registered their supermarkets loyalty card on the Zipongo platform. The information provides insights into the types of foods consumers purchase, which can be used to create personalized dietary recommendations, such as lowering carbohydrate intake.

We trend user data over time to gain an understanding of their diet, Langheier says.

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To obtain deeper insights into how diet can impact a consumers health, Zipongo has collaborated with 23andMe Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based personal genomics and biotechnology company. Consumers can share information from their 23andMe account with Zipongo to provide correlations between their genetic make-up and nutritional health.

Zipongo, which was founded in 2011, has raised a total of $30 million in funding.

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