About the Project

FoodSentry is a pioneering device designed to transform how we manage food in our kitchens. Recognizing the common challenges of food wastage and inefficient meal planning, FoodSentry offers a high-tech, user-friendly solution that integrates into any refrigerator.

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FoodSentry App Solution

Problem

Understand The Problems Faced By Target Groups

Solution

We Provide A Comprehensive Solution By Managing Ingredients To Minimize Waste And Optimize Usage.

We face the problem of consumers buying excessive food, leading to significant waste as items are forgotten or expire in refrigerators. Poor tracking and management of these food supplies result in both economic and environmental impacts due to unnecessary discarding of unused food items.

We developed the FoodSentry app with the aim of addressing the issue of food waste, empowering users to explore solutions for utilizing their ingredients efficiently and reducing unnecessary wastage.

User Interview

Figure Out The Solution By Gathering Data From User

76% of the respondents mentioned that they often buy large amounts of food and cannot consume it in a short time, resulting in food waste.

55% of respondents said they often throw away expired food because they don’t know what to do with it.

23.7% of respondents said they needed to improve their cooking confidence

*Data was gathered through one-on-one interviews with 37 individuals.

Key Insights Gathered

With these insights, FoodSentry was designed to be intuitive, offering smart solutions to everyday kitchen problems and promoting sustainable living.

Need for Efficient Food Tracking
Users expressed a desire for a smarter way to keep track of food items, especially perishables, to prevent waste.

Desire for Meal Preparation Assistance
Many users showed interest in a tool that could suggest recipes based on the ingredients available in their fridge.

Simplifying the Grocery Shopping Experience
There was a strong need for a system that could remind users of what they need to buy, reducing impulse purchases and forgotten items.

Ease of Use
A user-friendly interface was a top priority, ensuring that all age groups could benefit from FoodSentry.

Potential Solution

We aim to create an ecosystem with efficient inventory management, personalized meal planning, and proactive expiration tracking to minimize food waste and simplify kitchen management

Ecosystem Meal Planning Inventory Management

Expiration Tracking

Competitor Research

To gain insights into the competitive landscape, I examined Cooklist, a unique application that simplifies grocery shopping and meal planning. Its key features include barcode scanning technology for easy addition of items to shopping lists, personalized recipe recommendations, and food expiration tracking. However, the app faces challenges like limited geographical availability, potential inaccuracies in receipt recognition, and not fully accommodating various dietary preferences. Despite these limitations, Cooklist enhances grocery shopping efficiency, reduces food waste through effective pantry management, and offers a user-friendly interface for enjoyable meal planning.

Impact Effort Matrix

Before moving on, I wanted to prioritize some feature ideas using an impact effort matrix. This gave me a general idea of the features I wanted to implement into the design and what I should focus on first.

Persona Detail

Personas

After gathering and organizing the data from my research, I needed to create a persona to visualize the target end-user. To guide me through the design process, I wanted to ensure that this persona accurately portrayed people that need a tool to help them manage their ingredients. This persona was referred to throughout the entire product life cycle in order to remain focused when making design decisions.

Low-Fidelity Prototypes

I started with basic low-fi prototype of how I wanted the overall layout to be structured to begin the design stage. I wanted the user can manage their ingredients easily on the main page, then guide them to the meal plan page delicately to help them consume their ingredients. This was reflected in the prototype shown below.

User Testing

As always, I conducted user testing with several participants before finalizing my designs with high-fidelity mockups. After gathering various insights from users, the following changes were made and displayed below.

High-Fidelity Prototypes

Continuous Image Scroll

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Take away & Next steps

With this project, I delved into understanding how individuals interact with food and manage kitchen resources. Although FoodSentry is not a replacement for traditional cooking methods, it aims to enhance the kitchen experience by offering a digital platform where users can efficiently utilize their ingredients and reduce waste. This application empowers users to explore creative meal plans based on their current fridge inventory, fostering a proactive approach to food management.

To further improve FoodSentry, some next steps would include:

1. Expanding the variety of meal recommendations to cater to a broader range of dietary preferences and culinary styles.

2. Developing a feature for users to save meal plans and recipes for offline access, facilitating meal prep in any setting.

3. Implementing a community feature where users can share their culinary creations and tips, fostering a social environment of shared learning and inspiration in the kitchen.

Product Designer

Innovator

FoodSentry

My Role

Timeline

Let us build a bettter life