Swetha Ramaswamy

Swetha Ramaswamy

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Foodtracker

FoodTracker is an application that helps curb food wastage by helping people track and manage their food better.

The Problem

Incorrect and wasteful food management habits contribute to 40% of global food waste – a large proportion of which, is generated by households and restaurants.
A general nonchalance toward food waste, and lack of information about environmental impact, contributes to this.

The Solution

Foodtracker – A mobile application that reminds you of food nearing expiry, and recommending ways to consume leftovers.
Foodtracker helps to address the goal of reducing food wastage by:
  • Helping people be aware of their current inventory and decreasing redundant food purchases. 
  • Providing intelligent recommendations for utilising leftovers in the fridge, so they’re not disposed of. 

Solution Highlights

Measuring Success

The solutions success depends on how well the application can detect food in the refrigerator, and how relevant the recipe recommendations are.
I would monitor stats like the number of downloads and active users, and long term behavior change by monitoring how much people speak of reduction in food wastage.

Defining scope & audience

I started by analyzing where food waste occurred- at different points across the food ecosystem. I studied how farmers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers consumed food.
I then turned to consumers as the primary target audience – as I could access them more easily, and that there were fewer solutions.

Insights from research

To get a sense of what users thought about food waste, 3 techniques were used: Surveys (43 responses), semi structured interviews (6) and contextual inquiry with 2 people.
Validating and nullifying assumptions
  • People cared about food waste, so our initial assumption was validated.
  • There was more interest in expiry reminders than food donation banks.
  • Food preservation was rated more important than recycling and composting.

Understanding preferences

The second and third themes were more interesting. This is where in-depth interviews and contextual inquiry helped provide deeper insight.
  • Lack of Information – People buy things that they do not know what to do with, and therefore do not prepare it in time.
  • Redundant food items – People do not have a system to keep track of the food inside their fridge, that leads to buying excessive food items.
  • Donation has it’s limitations– Although people did have an interest in donation, we found that most people could not donate prepared food, as food banks only take processed food. That leaves out perishables.

Redefining the Problem

How do we help people keep track of their food and use it wisely, in order to prevent wastage?

Personas

We created a primary and secondary persona, based on our priority of needs.

Assessing Ideas

I explored different ideas, and regrouped with my team to assess value, feasibility and viability. I used a 2X2 matrix for this purpose.
The winners – Recipe recommendation and visual inventory
We decided to build out the idea involving a visual inventory scan, since it met both the criteria – being useful as well as well as viable.

Wireframes

The idea that finally made the cut: Visual inventory of contents in the refrigerator, using an onboard camera. The app would also provide recipe suggestions based on food in the refrigerator.

Insights from testing

The app was tested for Navigation, understandability of concept, interaction design and Information architecture. Key Findings included:
  • Lack of orientation – People had trouble getting oriented with the application, as it was not something they had seen before.
  • Unclear labeling – People failed to distinguish between MyRecipe and the recipes suggested based on the individual items. They thought MyRecipe represented items they had favorited.
  • Lack of clear images misled users– People could not relate to the camera view in the initial wireframe. We then modified it by adding an actual image.

Visual Design