Initial Problem Discovery

When researching into the younger demographic, it became evident that food allergies significantly impact a large portion of the young adult population, ranging from 7 to 11 percent. Being able to also examine case series related to fatal food allergic reactions, it became apparent that teenagers and young adults represent a high-risk group.

Common Dietary Restrictions

Given the amount of dietary restrictions that are out there, we began to research into the most commonly adopted dietary patterns. Our aim was to gather as much information as possible to grasp the direction and understand how our design could effectively cater to this diverse range of dietary needs.

Allergens

While our primary focus was identifying dietary restrictions, we were equally committed to finding the most common allergens that individuals might be affected by. This approach aimed to provide an additional layer of support within our design, ultimately enhancing our ability to cater to our audience more.

Survey Results

After discovering the initial problem, we conducted a survey among younger individuals to get a better understanding of the various dietary restrictions while also being able to highlight the challenge they face in discovering new recipes that align with their dietary requirements.

Who else is solving this?

Following the completion of our survey, we began to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various food apps that cater to users’ specific dietary restrictions. Our research revealed a common trend which was that many apps either impose a subscription fee to access recipes tailored to one’s diet or only offer a limited amount of options to choose from.

Understanding our Audience

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the preferences and needs of our target audience, we crafted user personas as a strategic approach to shape our overall design. This method assisted us in aligning our product with the specific desires and needs of each user, and ensured a great user experience.

How Might We…

Upon gaining an understanding of our users’ pain points, frustrations, and gaining knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of existing diet apps, we began to come up with questions that were crucial to our user interface. These questions mostly revolved around the app’s functionality and its potential expansion beyond just an app.

Solving the Problem

We realized that creating a mobile app is the ideal way to connect with our target audience. Our app will offer free access to a variety of recipes based on the users dietary restrictions, a customizable meal planning calendar, and a virtual shopping list based on chosen recipes, making it perfect for busy lifestyles.

Beyond being just an app, our vision includes integrating a smart fridge to enhance kitchen efficiency. This appliance will not only monitor ingredient inventory in the fridge and pantry, but also generate recipes tailored to the available items.

Wireframe user Testing

With having users test the functionality of our design, we discovered we were missing key components such as the ability to edit within the meal calendar, saving recipes from the home page, and adding a serving size option in case the user is expecting more people to cook for.

Onboarding

When logging into the app for the first time, the user will be met with a mini survey to better understand their current diet, specific ingredients that they may want to include in their meals, or allergens that they may have so that the app can curate meals specifically to them.

Home Page

After the user has went through completing the mini survey of their current diet restrictions, they will be met with the home page allowing them to search and explore recipes.

For enhanced personalization in meal selection, users can finely tailor their search criteria. This includes filtering options based on meal type, cook time, difficulty level, or specific nutritional preferences to ensure the perfect match.

Saved Recipes & Meal Calendar

Upon discovering a favorite recipe on the homepage or through a search, users can conveniently store it in their personal collection. By navigating to the "Saved" tab, users can access all their saved recipes in one place.

Additionally, our meal planner feature seamlessly integrates with your saved recipes, enabling you to plan your meals for the upcoming week. This not only simplifies your shopping list but also ensures you're well-prepared for each days meal.

Grocery List

User will be able to generate a shopping list with all the ingredients required for your selected dishes. Alternatively, if you have our smart fridge, it will keep you informed about items you're running low on or have run out of.

Once your shopping is done, you can easily record your purchases by either scanning your receipt, automatically cataloging the items, or manually inputting them when you return home.

Recipe

For the chosen recipe that the user has decided to make, they will be able to look at all the ingredients that are required, instructions for making the dish, as well as looking at all the nutritional facts.

The main features that we implemented is being able to change the amount of servings in case you are cooking for more than yourself, being able to sub ingredients for a other alternative, and having the option to start preheating your smart oven from your smartphone.