Tastebud is a mobile application aimed at assisting busy individuals in discovering recipes based on the ingredients they already have at home. When it comes to grocery shopping, consumers are more likely to buy ingredients that align with their taste preferences. Many people tend to shop for groceries without pre-planning their meals.
UX and UI Designer, Visual Design, Interaction
Householders need a way to figure out what food items they currently have in their home before they grocery shop.
America wastes roughly 40% of its food. Households are responsible for the largest portion of all food waste. TOTAL 76 BILLION POUNDS per Year. In the US, an average person wastes 238 pounds of food. That's roughly $1,800 per year. *
http://foodprint.org/issues/the-problem-of-food-waste
The problem I suspect is householder will buy groceries not remembering what they currently have in their fridge. They would make quick choices and decisions while they grocery shop which may lead to over-purchasing groceries.
The primary emphasis of this case study is on individuals with busy lifestyles, including students and working professionals, who often find it challenging to allocate time for pre-planning grocery shopping and meal preparation. To gain a deeper understanding of this target demographic, I conducted interviews with four on-the-go individuals from diverse backgrounds. The key focal points of my inquiry encompass:
Here are the main points I gathered from my interviews:
On-the-go householders needs a way to effortlessly invent new meals with leftover ingredients they have at home because it will save them time and money before making a trip to the grocery store.
There are many recipes , shopping list apps and even high tech devices in the market.
I decided to took a closer look at product and apps out that focus reducing food waste to see what they offer their users and what do they do well.
Ovie Smarter (product/app)
Big Oven (app)
Nowaste (app)
The Ovie Smarter, Big Oven, and No Waste are indeed good products and apps. There are several items they can incorporate and further improve the user's experience.
See below my Plus and Delta on the three products.
Based on reviewing competitors , how may Tastebud:
• Allow users to incorporate what they currently have to new exciting dishes
• Introduce new food recipes to users
• Help individuals create grocery list to avoid waste
• Educate users to avoid food wastage (storing food wisely, selecting/picking veggies and fruits, etc)
After much brainstorming, I created a prioritization matrix.
Referring back to the main problem (food waste), I decided to focus on finding recipes for existing ingredients users may have at home. Based on the recipe they've selected, users will be able to create a perfectly portioned grocery list.
Before getting into usability testing, I created several ideal flow of how users should go through the app. This would give me an idea of any issues that might be brought up during usability testing.
After many revisions, I decided it's best to get user feedback on my first lo-fi testing and edit/revise before finalize on the userflow/site map and high-fi screen.
I tested my lo-fi prototype on four users to see how they would navigate through the app.
Scenario: You only have buttermilk and hot sauce in your fridge and you want to make fried chicken. Using this app, look for a fried chicken recipe containing the ingredients you have.
Summary
Because the task was clear, there was a high success rate from the usability test. Even though testers were able to navigate through the app easily, I decided to edit and refine the app.
Example:
The design process is very organic. Listening to others - feedbacks, user interviews - can change your perspective and thought process when coming up with a solution.
Food is not considered waste if it is given a second purpose - COMPOST LEFTOVERS!