PantryPal
Get creative meal ideas at your fingertips by using the PantryPal App. Stop letting your food go to waste, start to save money by avoiding take-out and use what’s in your kitchen to put together a meal. Simply select the items you have in your kitchen and browse through recipe options!
PROBLEM SPACE
Problem Statement
How might we improve the experience of cooking food while also reducing the amount of food waste generated in the process?
Problem Background
The average sized family in Canadian households wastes approximately 140 kg of food each year. This equates to 2.3 million tons of wasted food on a yearly basis generated from Canadian households. One of the very many problems that lead to this food waste is that we may not know what to do with it. Often, people have access to many ingredients in their pantry, but don’t know what to cook or how to use them to prepare a meal. They may get overwhelmed with their options or think it may be too time-consuming to cook so opt for take-out instead. In addition, if they don’t do the planning ahead of grocery shopping, they normally can’t just whip up a recipe they may want to try.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
User Pain Points
Our research included 20 survey respondents and 2 user interviews. The interviews and survey uncovered major themes and pain points including:
The research survey, conducted upon 20 millennials across North America validated these problems and revealed:
- 70% of participants had thrown out food within the last two weeks
- 60% of participants have researched and tried a new recipe within the last month
- 75% of participants mentioned that the lack of time is a pain point of their weekly meal prep
- 75% of participants rely on social media for ideas on meal preparation
- 50% mentioned that if they had ideas for what to cook based on their current ingredients it would be easier for them to cook at home
- 65% of participants confirmed their decision to cook is influenced by what’s in their kitchen
- 60% of participants validated that time commitment is a big influence on their cooking decisions
- 50% of participants end up doing take out when they can’t think of what to cook
During a user interview with a wife and mother of one, she mentioned “it would be perfect if she could go to her kitchen and have access to an easy recipe within a matter of minutes”. She also mentioned that her number one stressor is planning meals that can accommodate her daughter and spouse within a timely fashion. In addition, she mentioned that she wished there was a way to just think of recipes based on exactly what she had in the kitchen.
LANDING ON THE SOLUTION
Based on target users’ pain points, I knew I wanted to work on creating a way for users to have access to meal ideas based on the ingredients they already have.
In addition, I wanted to focus on achiving these goals with PantryPal:
- Reduce food waste by providing meal options to use the items in the user’s kitchen
- Offer nutritious personalized recipes based on items in an user’s kitchen
- Monetize through advertisements or premium features – the app could draw revenue by displaying ads from food and kitchen appliance companies, and premium features such as personalized meal planning, recipe collections and others for a fee
EXPLANATION OF SOLUTION
The solution is a mobile app that delivers recipe ideas for the exact ingredients the user already has in their kitchen. The app will allow users to browse and search through images and select the food items already in their kitchen and any dietary restrictions. Once they enter in the items in their kitchen, it will provide them with meal options personalized based on their selections. They can quickly browse through recipes that indicate the total cook time and decide which meal to make. Whether users are looking for a quick 20-minute meal idea or 60 minutes, there will be options that display diverse meals suitable to their timing.
MOCK UPS
FUTURE STEPS
- Conduct further user research to have a better understanding of the problem space
- Create a MVP and complete testing to ensure functionality
- Add potential features such as functionality to allow users to rate recipes
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Dominique Watson
Co.Lab provided me with the following learnings as a PM:
- The importance of conducting user interviews and surveys to learn as much as possible about your users
- Focus on understanding the problem as much as possible before thinking of the solution
- The ‘job to be done’ framework helps you to focus more on the specific user problem
- Building in public is an important way to gain credibility and gain support
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.