Amidst the steep surge in food price index outside our homes, Remy is a recipe app that yields its users the most convenience when cooking at home. Not only this app saves the users from reading fruitless contexts to arrive at necessary, important recipe directions, it also enables them to change the portion size in seconds and proportionally calculates each ingredients needed for. a dish. Moreover, in Remy, users can select the ingredients left in their refrigerator and receive recommendations on what they can make from given ingredients. Remy even tells the users what they could make if they have just a few more ingredients.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the past year from November 2023, the price index for food from restaurants rose 5.3% while food at home index rose merely 1.7%. More specifically, it is notable that index for limited service meals(fast food) rose 6% and index for full service meals(restaurants) rose 4.3% during this period. There is a drastic change in inflation of food indexes away from homes that motivates Americans' eating-out behaviors.
According to AlixPartners, consumers are more likely to cut back on their restaurants visits to preserve their budgets. Considering the steep 6% increase in index for fast food chains, households encounter daily challenges regarding what and how to eat their meals.
Furthermore, AlixPartners' analysis states that with the long-lasting influence of Coronavirus, 60% of participated consumers are still concerned about the safety of eating out in the public.
1. Three times a day, households arrive upon the pressure of deciding what and how to eat their meals.
I, myself, have experienced this with my family over this Winter Break in 2023. We have arrived at the consensus to minimize eating out and cook meals ourselves, as means to preserve unnecessarily excessive expenditure at restaurants. Some nights, we would make familiar dishes that we knew on top of our heads, but other nights, we would try for a completely new dish that we would have to rely on others' recipes.
But having to navigate overstimulated online space for the right recipe can be a frustrating experience. Websites and blogs with unnecessary anecdotes and confusing directions on how to make a dish was a draining experience for my family, when we were simply looking for a straightforward, trusted recipe.
2. Another struggle when cooking at home is buying appropriate kind and amount of ingredients at grocery shops.
It is challenging to buy the right portion for a meal, often leading to storage of excess ingredients in our refrigerators. And as one of the main reasons for avoiding restaurants is to prevent expenditure, it would be ideal to be efficient with all the groceries we bought before they go bad. But when ingredients begin to accumulate, it becomes much harder to figure out what type of dishes can be made from them.
3. Ingredients are seldom sold for individual or smaller portions.
Luckily, my family has 5 hungry mouths, which are normally the portion size for many ingredients; but when cooking for smaller or bigger audience, figuring out the exact proportions for each ingredient can become tricky. For instance, when you are cooking for 3 people, having to calculate the right amounts of ingredients from a recipe intended for 5 people requires more effort and time than necessary.
1. A recipe platform that provides straightforward, trustworthy recipes that are delicious without unnecessary stories or complicated explanations. Like a social media post, not only will the users be able to share a better way to a dish(if one exists), but they will also be able to express their love towards good, simple recipes. Others can base these expressions when choosing their meals and recipes.
2. Remy will incorporate an algorithm that enables it to know which ingredients are needed for certain dishes. When user checks the boxes of ingredients that they have, Remy will then recommend the user what they can make with them. Furthermore, Remy will suggest a few other dishes that could be made with additions of 1 or 2 ingredients.
3. Remy will ask for the desired portion size when one builds an account, which will automatically be set as the standard portion for the user’s recipes on the app. Of course, users can always change the portion size when viewing any recipes, and changing would adjust the ingredients list accordingly.
1. Provide convenience and ease when one looks for a recipe online?
2. Enhance meal prepping experience for varying portions?
3. Establish trust and encourage users to explore more recipes?
Envisioning the user flow within the app, I created an information architecture that displays the important structures of Remy.
After filling in their informations and preferences/restrictions, users can begin to explore various recipes. In addition to recommended "for you" recipes based on individual preferences, users can view viral recipes that others have expressed their love and trust in. Moreover, they can delve into specific categories dive deeper into each cuisine.
Remy's Specials is a unique feature of Remy, where its algorithm will calculate and recommend possible dishes from users' own ingredient lists. Moreover, Remy provides a few more recipes that users could make with simple additions of ingredients.
When viewing a recipe, users can change the portion size by simply selecting the right serving size. When measure changes, entire ingredient list adjusts appropriately so that the right amounts are provided for the intended portion size.
When browsing for recipes, it is possible for some users to know better or easier ways to make certain dish more than the existing ones. In these instances, users can publish and share their own recipe. By filling in the necessary information such as cuisine, ingredients, and steps, the created recipe becomes public for others to see.
As a second solo project, Remy taught me the importance of the ability to concentrate for a short duration of time to arrive at a final product. Over the winter break, I was invested in starting and finishing something, and being dedicated to accomplishing my goal for the past 2 weeks was truly a motivating and growing experience.
Also, as I have tackled this project with lessons and knowledges I learned from my previous project <Pawsible>, each step of the journey had a clearer path and vision. Figuring out the more efficient way of problem-solving thinking led me to find an appropriate answer by being more flexible, and brainstorming and navigating through a problem encouraged me to think from a user's perspective rather than from a designer's. Constantly pushing my perspective away from me, away from biased to unbiased, is a mesmerizing procedure and is one of the beauty when approaching a product and user's experience.
I truly believe that Remy has an actual potential to find its audience and elevate their experience when browsing for recipes. I am discussing the future steps with a great friend of mine, who is a developer, in order to bring this to reality. Please check back in the near future for more update!