Create your Cajoul account

Cajoul is very user friendly and easy to use, so you will probably not even need to read any instructions, even if detailed help is available on this site.

First download iOS Cajoul app from the Apple Store or Android Cajoul app from Google Play.

Cajoul is fully free, meaning not only the app itself is free, but there are also no subscription fees or hidden paying options.

After launching Cajoul, select how to connect:

  • using Apple (on iOS) (soon available);
  • using Google Play (on Android) (soon available);
  • using Facebook (soon available);
  • using your email.
  • you could also start using Cajoul as a guest and connect later. Please note in this case some features like product search or shopping list will not be available until you connect.

If you connect using email, please indicate a first name or nickname and a password to protect your account. Indicate your correct email address, as you will receive an activation code in your mailbox to complete account activation. Should the activation code not be received, you could request it again by email (check first Cajoul activation mail has not been sorted as spam by your mail provider, as this happens regularly).

If you have already installed Cajoul on another device, or created a Cajoul account on the web, we recommend you to reuse your existing credentials (email/password) to associate your new device to your existing account.

Once Cajoul is installed on your mobile device, you will not be asked again for your email or password, they will be used only to connect to your account on Cajoul web or if you want to install Cajoul on another mobile device.

Use Cajoul features

After having connected to Cajoul, Cajoul will display a search page allowing you to search for shops and products and will show at the bottom the list of available choices:

  • Product scan: scan any product barcode to get its detailed characteristics;
  • Search any product or shop: you could search any product sold in your country or look out for shops near your location (on iOS, soon available on Android);
  • Shopping list and larder list: Cajoul allows you to create your own shopping list from the Search view. During your shopping session, Cajoul will mark purchased products and displays products remaining to buy, ensuring you don't forget anything. After your purchase, Cajoul will manage your purchased products in your larder and remind you of their expiration date, to avoid spillage (on iOS, soon available on Android);
  • History of your scans

If you connected to Cajoul using your email or a social network, Cajoul iOS will download on your device the list of main products purchased in your country, so you could perform searches from home and build your shopping list. If you have only registered as a guest, those features are not available but a Connect button allows you to complete your registration and benefit from those features.

Scan a product

The Scan button at the bottom left will lauch the camera to start scanning.

You could scan any food product barcode: Cajoul will then search for product characteristics in its database. When found, a product detailed information page will be displayed, showing:

  • product picture, name and brand;
  • Cajoul rating, between 0 and 10.
  • detailed nutritional information when known, with the split between fats, glucids and proteins, and quantity of sugars, saturated fats, proteins, salt, fibers and fruits/vegetables for 100g of products. Depending on their values, those data will be split between Pro and Cons;
  • summary of product additives.
  • Nutriscore rating. This reference European score is computed taking into account product type, proteins, saturated fats, sugars, fibers, salt and percentage of fruits and vegetables.

At the top of the product nutritional information, tabs allows to view product ingredients, detailed information on product additives and their health risks, and to compare this product with other similar products. Some of those tabs may not been shown, for example the Additive tab will not be displayed if there is no additive in the product.

When you decide to purchase a product, click on the product Shopping Cart button: this will add the product to your active shopping cart. You could then enter or correct its price (last recorded price at similar shop will be displayed if known) and also indicate product expiration date. In this way, Cajoul will manage your shopping cart, displays total price tag expected at the cash desk and will also manage expiration dates for purchased products.

More info on product scan

Manage shopping cart

On iOS, during shopping, the scan page displays at the top your shopping cart summary, showing the shop name (if detected), the total number and total price of products in your shopping cart (this feature will be soon available on Android).

You could click on the shopping cart symbol at top right to view detailed list of your purchases and adjust quantities, prices or expiration dates. A total line at the bottom of the list will show you the expected price tag at the cashier desk, or at least the minimum expected price if some item prices are not indicated.

If you had defined your own shopping list from the Search product view, a tab in shopping cart list will display your shopping list, sorted in three sections:

  • products remaining to buy;
  • products already bought: Cajoul mark a product as purchased when you scan it and click on the Shopping cart button. In some cases, a product may not be marked as purchased, for example if you have add to your shopping list unskimmed milk from a brand and bought another brand. In this case, you could uncheck the product from your shopping list to remove it from the products remaining to buy section;
  • products to be bought later, when you uncheck them in your shopping list.

Once your shopping is finished, you could click on the End shopping session button at the bottom of the shopping cart list to mark your purchases as completed or discard them. After 30 minutes of inactivity (no more product scan), Cajoul will automatically clear your shopping cart list.

Search products and manage shopping list

On iOS, the Search tab will allow you to search any product by its name or part of name. You could also search products by categories by typing a category name (e.g. butter). The list of matching products will be displayed so you could review and compare products at your leisure.

You could add any product or generic category to your shopping list by clicking on the product List button.

The List tab will display the list of products in your shopping list and offers several choices:

  • you could increase or decrease the quantity of any product.
  • you could remove (trash) any product you don't want to buy anymore.
  • an enable switch also allows you to mark a product as not to be purchased next time, but leave it in your list for later.

After creating the shopping list, you could check it during shopping from either the list or best the shopping cart. This last display will show you the products in your list conveniently sorted in sections (remaining to be bought, purchased, marked for later purchase).

Search shops nearby

On iOS, in the Search tab, you could search nearby shops anywhere in your country. To this end, either enter any city or village name in the search box, or click on the Locate button to detect your position.

Cajoul will then list all major shops near the specified location, sorted by distance. You could search using your actual location or any location, for example to look out for shops at your next vacation destination.

By clicking on any shop in the list, the shop will be displayed on the map. You could click on the shop symbol in the map to view its contact information and get detailed driving instructions to this shop from your current location.

All Cajoul team wish you happy and healthy shopping!