NutriPar
Revolutionizing Recipe Discovery for Health Conscious Foodies
Problem Space
Problem Statement
Diet-conscious individuals who are passionate about food NEED A WAY TO quickly find recipes that meet their nutritional goals BECAUSE discovering new recipes and ensuring they align with their dietary requirements can be a time-consuming task.
Problem Background
As someone who is both a bodybuilder and a foodie, I am conscious of my nutritional goals, but I also want every meal to be delicious and varied. As a result, it can be time-consuming for me to find different recipes that meet both criteria.
The goal of this app is to reduce the hassle involved in recipe finding for diet-conscious individuals, such as those on cutting or bulking diets, or patients following dietary recommendations. Currently, such individuals have two options for meal preparation. They can either rely on their experience to come up with a recipe that will possibly meet their nutritional goals, or search for recipes on Google or social media. However, the first option requires extensive experience and often results in limited meal choices. The second option cannot guarantee meeting nutritional goals and often requires a significant time commitment.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
I did 2 interviews of my friends who feel:
- Time consuming when researching on recipes that meet their nutritional goals
- Resulted recipes include ingredients they don’t want or hard to get
- Although many fitness apps or apps that focus on strict dietary plans recommend recipes, but users still can’t easily find recipes they like
Supporting Data
Both of my interviewees are unhappy with current solutions as they are time consuming and not accurate
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on features based on the following scenarios:
- Scenario #1: nutrition goals can be easily input
- Common nutrition metrics, such as the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, will be displayed on the screen with input boxes and units of measurement (for example, %, kcal, g)
- Users can enter their desired number into these input boxes
- A plus button will be provided for users to add more detailed metrics, such as the amount of sugar, sodium and fiber
- Scenario #2: recipes accurately meets users’ nutrition goals
- The database generate recipes meet the inputted goals
- Scenario #3: recipes excludes ingredients that users don’t want
- Add a red ❌ button on the nutrition input page. Users can click the button to input ingredients they don't want for their search
- Include sections in the user profile where users can input ingredients they never want to see in search results
- Scenario #4: suggest the intake amount of nutritions
- Know your users by including a list of dietary preferences in their personal profile section, similar to dating preferences in dating apps. These preferences may include height, weight, nutritional goals (losing body fat, gaining weight, etc.), and more.
- Provide a short description and warnings for recommended nutrition plans.
- Scenario #5: Recommended recipes are localized, meaning they meet users' appetites and the ingredients are easy to obtain.
- Get to know the users - collect geographical information about them.
Future Steps
I have tried ChatGPT-4, and it can easily generate recipes that meet my nutritional goals. AI can certainly contribute a lot to this product, but the question is how?
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Yulei Wang
Co.Lab provides me with a solid foundation to pursue PM roles. The class has a well-structured mix of online lectures, fireside chats, and mentor feedback. The online lectures provide tools for product ideation and documentation, while the fireside chats offer direct insights into the daily work of PMs in the industry. The mentor feedback takes me further in understanding PMs’ mindset and what areas I can improve upon.
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.