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By Raissa Talehata
Research
The goal of the research is to understand why end customers like you and I end up wasting our food. I’d like to understand the reasons why people buy food they don’t to eat, what the challenges are, and how can I find effective ways to intervene and help to ease the process of managing food.
RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
First, I conducted a research to discover what solutions are currently available in the market. I compiled a list of direct and indirect competitors in the food storage and inventory market, then evaluate their functions with the key features I envisioned for Froot.
I also took some time to explore those apps to understand the flow and how they work. Beyond that, I also analyzed the customer app reviews to find out users’ paint points and motivations briefly.
Key Takeaways:
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Many apps concentrate on managing storage, create shopping list, and plan meals; rather than educating users about storage tips. For example, users would not be able to find information about tips to slow down banana from ripening by avoiding to place it next to other ripe fruits.
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Other apps focus too much on expiration dates which might increase users’ anxiety and encourage them to toss their food; instead of enlighten users with information about things to examine if food is no longer safe to eat.
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Some complaints on the complexity of the app, lack of visualization, and difficulties in finding information.
Competitive Analysis Workbook
RESEARCH
Survey
I conducted a survey to take a closer look on peoples’ behaviors towards their storing and discarding food habits. The goal is to identify actions that people do consciously or not in perceiving and valuing food.
The survey covers both quantitative and qualitative questions. In one part of the survey, I asked users (optionally) to upload a picture of their fridge to validate if fridge visibility is the main culprit of food waste at home.
Using qualtrics, I built the survey and shared through Nextdoor, LinkedIn, Reddit, and UXPA Boston Slack Channel to target young professionals, parents, and people who compost. I was able to receive 89 responses and gather 15 images of people’s refrigerator.
Key Takeaways:
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74 people (83%) repackaged their food after grocery shopping and vegetables happened to be the items that mostly get repackaged.
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However, 59 respondents (66%) claimed that fruits and vegetables are the number one food that end up being thrown in the garbage, followed by leftover meals from home and (surprisingly) bread.
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People who repackage their food believe that it can help to maintain the freshness and prevent spoilage, however spoilage and staleness is ranked to be the highest reason why food end up being discarded.
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Almost half of the participants admit that they go through their refrigerator regularly (45%), followed by discovering old items in the fridge (19%). In addition to that, people also revealed that the most common methods to decide when food should be discarded are through detecting mold/rot, wilted/spoiled produce, and noticing bad odor from food/fridge.
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50% of participants who submit a photo of their fridge: 8 refrigerators look full and can barely see what they have inside the fridge.
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Majority of respondents believe that they waste less than $20 every month.
Qualitative Survey Analysis
Quantitative Survey Analysis
Fridge Analysis
