The developers of mobile apps created to help shoppers identify and say they observed a sharp rise in interest in Denmark and other countries following the recent escalation of tensions related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s .
Ian Rosenfeldt, creator of the “Made O’Meter” app, stated he saw approximately 30,000 downloads of the free app over just three days during the peak of the trans-Atlantic in late January—part of more than 100,000 downloads since its launch in March.
Apps offer practical help
Rosenfeldt, a Copenhagen-based digital marketer, decided to build the app a year ago after joining a Facebook group with fellow Danes who wanted to boycott U.S. products.
“A lot of people were frustrated, wondering, ‘How do we actually do this in real life?’” the 53-year-old remembered. “With a barcode scanner, it’s hard to tell if a product is truly American or Danish. Without that information, you can’t make a deliberate choice.”
The newest version of “Made O’Meter” uses artificial intelligence to identify and analyze multiple products at once, then recommend similar European-made alternatives. Users can set preferences like “No USA-owned brands” or “Only EU-based brands.” The app claims an accuracy rate of over 95%.
“Using AI, you can take a photo of a product … and it can dig deep to find accurate, multi-layered information about it,” Rosenfeldt told The Associated Press during a demonstration at a Copenhagen grocery store. “This gives you the details you need to decide what’s right for you.”
‘Losing an ally’
After an initial download surge when the app launched, usage declined—until last month, when Trump stepped up his rhetoric about the U.S. needing to , a strategically important, semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Usage peaked on Jan. 23, with nearly 40,000 scans in a single day—compared to around 500 daily last summer. It has since fallen but still averaged about 5,000 scans a day this week, Rosenfeldt said. He noted “Made O’Meter” is used by over 20,000 people in Denmark and also by users in Germany, Spain, Italy, and even Venezuela.
“It’s gotten much more personal,” Rosenfeldt said, referring to “losing an ally and a friend.”
In January, Trump announced he would impose new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries that opposed his takeover demands—only to suddenly drop the threats after claiming a “framework” for a deal on access to mineral-rich Greenland was reached with the help of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Few details about that agreement have been made public.
In late January, the U.S. started to develop an Arctic security deal with Denmark and Greenland, which assert sovereignty is .
Rosenfeldt acknowledges such boycotts won’t harm the U.S. economy, but he hopes to send a message to supermarkets and encourage greater reliance on European producers.
“Maybe we can send a signal, people will listen, and we can make a change,” he added.
The protest may be largely symbolic
Another Danish app, “NonUSA,” surpassed 100,000 downloads in early February. Jonas Pipper, a 21-year-old co-creator, said there were over 25,000 downloads on Jan. 21—at one point, 526 product scans were done in a minute. Of the users, around 46,000 are in Denmark and roughly 10,000 in Germany.
“We noticed some users saying they felt a bit of pressure was lifted off them,” Pipper said. “They feel like they regained some power in this situation.”
It’s unclear whether these apps will have much practical impact.
Christina Gravert, an associate professor of economics at the University of Copenhagen, said there are actually very few U.S. products on Danish grocery store shelves—“around 1 to 3%”—such as nuts, wines, and candy. However, American technology is widely used in Denmark, from iPhones to Office tools.
“If you want real impact, that’s where you should start,” she said.
Even “Made O’Meter” and “NonUSA” are downloaded from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
Gravert, who specializes in behavioral economics, said such boycott campaigns typically don’t last long and real change often requires organized action rather than individual consumers.
“Big supermarket brands might decide, ‘We’re not stocking these products anymore because consumers don’t want them,’” she said. “For large companies, this could affect the imports they handle.”
On a recent morning, shoppers leaving a Copenhagen grocery store had mixed views.
“We boycott, but we don’t know all American products. So it’s mostly the well-known brands,” said Morten Nielsen, 68, a retired navy officer. “It’s a personal thing … we feel like we’re doing something, even though I know it’s not much.”
“I love America—I love traveling there,” said 63-year-old retiree Charlotte Fuglsang. “I don’t think we should protest like that.”