Delightfull
A meal planning App for Africans who want to cook but don’t know what to cook.
Problem Statement
A home cook needs a way to find different African recipes they can prepare with the ingredients they have on hand so that they can enjoy delicious variations of their favourite meals.
Problem Background
Have you ever stared at your loaded pantry but still lacked inspiration for your next meal?
You are not alone.
While in a conversation with a married friend, I asked her what has been the hardest part of being a mum and she said it was having to figure out the meals to prepare for her family daily.
I realized that even as a single person, I too could relate to this pain point as I have found myself on many occasions staring at the ingredients I have on hand and still asking, what should I cook today? What else can I cook with these ingredients that is different from what I made the last time?
I began to wonder if there was a way to find recipes for the ingredients I have on hand. In my search for answers, I discovered that for a lot of homecook, lack of inspiration is a common problem and this makes even the thought of cooking very stressful and overwhelming.
As I searched online for possible solutions to this dilemma, I discovered that these solutions weren’t tailored to African oriented meals and as such many African ingredients were missing, and in some cases, not recognized on these Apps.
This made me decide to explore this problem space for this underserved category.
Research Insights
A survey was put together specifically targeted to Africans and anyone who cooks African food at home.
The goal of the research was to mainly determine:
- How they felt about planning meals
- The most important thing they considered when deciding on the meal to cook
- What they do when they don’t know what to cook
- How they find recipe’s and how open they are to trying new foods.
Twenty five (25) home cooks that fit this category responded to the survey and 5 were selected for user interviews.
The survey and interview revealed that 64% of the respondents feel “stressed”, “tired”, “overwhelmed” and “unsure” when they have to think or plan the next meal to cook.
60% indicated that the most important thing they consider when deciding on the meal to cook is available ingredients.
The user research further confirmed the existence of the problem, which is that, home cooks who cook or would like to explore African cuisine, do not have an effective way to find recipes for the ingredients they have on hand.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points identified by the research, it became apparent that we first needed to build a platform where people can find different African recipes for the ingredients they have on hand. Thus, Delightfull was born.
In the MVP stage, Delightfull will help home cooks save time and will eliminate stress by helping them make faster decisions while retaining and even increasing excitement when it comes to planning and cooking meals.
User Flows/Mockups
Open App > Click on Get Started > Enters Email > If the user is not already registered, the user will be prompted to register. If registered, the password box will open requesting the user to enter password > Sign in > Select Find What to Cook > User will prompted to enter ingredients they already have > Click on the Message chat box to type in available ingredients > Select Show my Food Options> View generated recommendations> Click Get cooking Directions > End.
Future Steps
To fully address the other problems identified during the user interviews, future updates of Delightfull will have provision for users to
- Customize food timetables: This feature will help users who plan their meals a week, or even month in advance, to personalize and customize their timetables of Delightfull.
- Share family recipes and interact with other users: As the research revealed that 60% of users will attempt new African recipes even though the ingredients are not familiar to them, having this feature on Delightfull will encourage these adventurous cooks to share their favourite African food recipes, introduce new varieties to their menus and share the outcome with other users.
- Customize meal plans based on fitness/lifestyle and unique preferences.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Veracious Nnoka
At Co.Lab I have learned to spend more time focusing on the problem instead of the solution to ensure that my solution actually solves the problem rather than already having a solution and looking for a problem. I learned about the MOM Test and how to ask the right questions during user interviews to avoid influencing the responses.
I also learned the importance of prioritization and how to prioritize effectively in order to narrow the scope and focus on one Job to be Done.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.