This is for a Design Thinking class taught by some folks at IDEO

my group was charged with doing research around, and coming up with some type of prototype for addressing food waste in households

we have a few we are testing, so I'd like your feedback on the feasibility of this one..mostly

Would you use this if it were available? and if so, do you think you would waste less food because of it?

FYI i have no emotional attachment to this idea...so feel free to be as positive or negative about it as you'd like lol

The idea: an in-store supermarket display area where you can shop based on specific recipes

- the store would feature two or three recipes weekly, with take-away recipe cards (like Blue Apron)
-all the ingredients would be there in front of you to purchase in the quantity you need, specific to your portion sizes (i.e, you could buy one serving of each ingredient if you're just cooking for you, or 3 or 5 servings etc)
-the display would feature suggestions on how to have kids help prepare the meal
- the display would feature a tasting/sample of each completed recipe so you can try it before you buy it
-the store would give you a discount on the total price of the ingredients if you buy them all at once from the display.


Your thoughts?

d

it would work for a decent period of time

like having less leftovers because you can control the portion size...

d

myself who often 'overcook' which is a common complaint

i've never tried none of the blue apron type stuff but this sorta intrigues me

i've seen similar things in the meat aisle but it's more for family meals...

maybe portions for 2(or 3) is the sweet spot

but i think this is a very decent idea

I usually go into the store without a plan and I do waste a lot of food. So this would solve a couple of problems.

But it doesn't seem like something I would go out of my way to pay for. It seems more like a free grocery store perk.

food vendors would sponsor it to get their food products sold.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Your goal.

People can follow recipes for portion control now. There are too many additional factors ie. People eat different amounts, people cook more than one serving per person at a time.

Plus, who wants to buy one serving of onion powder?

>Your goal.
>
>People can follow recipes for portion control now. There are
>too many additional factors ie. People eat different amounts,
>people cook more than one serving per person at a time.
>

we heard from Blue Apron users that there's no option for single services which makes Blue Apron cost prohibitive so we were trying to address that

>Plus, who wants to buy one serving of onion powder?

lol true.

We tried Blue Apron and it kind of worked but it was too much of a commitment. I couldn't committ to cooking even 3 times a week. But what I loved about it was having all the proper portions of everything I needed. I also realized I was being lazy because the only difference between the grocery story and blue apron was that they were given me the proper portions and it was delivered to my house.

The perfect compromise for me woud be going to the grocery store and to pick up my blue apron like package to cook on the nights I want.

I actually made a post a while back as to whether I could find at trader jokes prepackaged meals that all I had to do was pop in the oven an cook. This seems that closes compromise.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

and it’s shit like lemon and garlic salmon with mash potatoes and asparagus. Pop it in the oven or microwave for 4 minutes and bam.. you got dinner.

They have some good meals too.

Haven’t tried it yet but thinking about it for lunch. Price is usually in the 5 to 8 dollar range.

one time I asked if it were real because it look plastic.

Ain’t really no way to make shrink wrapped food look good in packaging.

>We tried Blue Apron and it kind of worked but it was too much
>of a commitment. I couldn't committ to cooking even 3 times a
>week. But what I loved about it was having all the proper
>portions of everything I needed. I also realized I was being
>lazy because the only difference between the grocery story and
>blue apron was that they were given me the proper portions and
>it was delivered to my house.

exactly...that's the feedback we got from other blue apron users, myself included. like i'd feel stressed out when the box came like, shit when can i cook this week?

>The perfect compromise for me woud be going to the grocery
>store and to pick up my blue apron like package to cook on the
>nights I want.
>
>I actually made a post a while back as to whether I could find
>at trader jokes prepackaged meals that all I had to do was pop
>in the oven an cook. This seems that closes compromise.

awesome thanks

d
>
>**********
>"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then
>they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
>
>"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

but i don’t think they have all the ingredients available for purchase at the tasting booth.

I’m not sure about the portion control tho. While it’s great for newbies it’s also wasteful when it comes to packaging. If I have a family of 6 i have to buy 6 packages of one ingredient?

I would rather buy a jar of an ingredient so I can use it for other meals.

I also don’t care about tips on how kids can help. That’s overkill IMO.

The target probably would have been the smaller family (maybe a couple) who don't want to buy the big family packs.

Cooking was such a hassle for me and my wife because it was just the two of us and we weren't big on leftovers.


>but i don’t think they have all the ingredients available
>for purchase at the tasting booth.
>
>I’m not sure about the portion control tho. While it’s
>great for newbies it’s also wasteful when it comes to
>packaging. If I have a family of 6 i have to buy 6 packages of
>one ingredient?
>
>I would rather buy a jar of an ingredient so I can use it for
>other meals.
>
>I also don’t care about tips on how kids can help. That’s
>overkill IMO.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

or ingredients for one serving that gets real bulky and wasteful if its for 2 or 3 people...

I have to buy 24 packets for 3 people?

That's one of the main complaints with Blue Apron.

like they have some sort of aversion to it

. If I have a family of 6 i have to buy 6 packages of
>one ingredient?

no. the idea is to have the portions packaged up to 4. So if you're 6, you'd buy a 4-pack and a two-pack. of everything...or two 3-packs

>I also don’t care about tips on how kids can help. That’s
>overkill IMO.

got it

d

I can go straight to the display, pick up everything I need and leave.
**prayer hands **

sign me up

but yes, single folk are the target generally because they seem to waste alot of food

something big brands could sponsor. Could be a great idea for local brands too.

If the meat gets salt, pepper, onion powder and basil put that all in one pack for one serving.

or alts?

like say if you have meatloaf as the recipe then each ingredient listed would have the option to substitute for another ingredient if you have dietary restrictions or allergic responses

I’ve seen a few “you could also try this” but a bunch of “instead of this use this” and alternative options seems like it would end up being words words words.

Whole point is to make easy right?

so if there are no substitution options I'm concerned a good portion of alternate eaters will take a look say "ain't for me" and bounce

like will there be out-of-store engagement?

if you subscribe to an email list would you be able to receive emails mentioning upcoming recipes?

would you be able to also/instead of using a paper card view the current recipe on your phone?

>like will there be out-of-store engagement?
>
>if you subscribe to an email list would you be able to receive
>emails mentioning upcoming recipes?
>
>would you be able to also/instead of using a paper card view
>the current recipe on your phone?


we discussed a companion app so you could see what local stores had which recipes, maybe suggest future recipes, rate them, etc

and that is an out-of-store study. When the shopper goes home and prepares what he or she cooks... what will remain? Will the eventually toss out the food over a day or so?

Also schools, hospitals, and restaurants should be targets of the study as well. They throw away a ton of food.

What will be done with the results in terms of getting people not to waste so much food?

>and that is an out-of-store study. When the shopper goes
>home and prepares what he or she cooks... what will remain?
>Will the eventually toss out the food over a day or so?
>
>Also schools, hospitals, and restaurants should be targets of
>the study as well. They throw away a ton of food.

actually another group in the class is focusing on food waste in hospitals and another one in schools..

we did speak to some restaurants during our research, as well

>What will be done with the results in terms of getting people
>not to waste so much food?

hopefully I get an A in the class :)

d

*looks at wife*

I've tried a few meal subscription services but recently quit them. I suggested this exact thing back in some other post.

Pros of meal subs
+ Exact portions - I dont have to buy a whole tub of something to use a pinch of it
+ Saves time shopping
+ I try new food and recipes I wouldn't have otherwise

Cons
- Expensive (shipping, packaging)
- The packaging is wasteful as hell. They need to add extra to protect from spills, bumps, and to keep it cool.
- Sometimes I dont feel like spending an hour cooking but I'm locked into the subscription and the food will rot if I dont make it fast enough. Ultimately the reason I quit. I threw out an entire recipe more than once because I didnt get around to cooking it within the 3-4 days and it went bad.
- I'm single and the smallest option you can get is 2 recipes a week (4 portions). It was really too much and I just wanted 1.

The supermarket idea should be cheaper, have less packaging, and you don't need a subscription. Plus most people are still going to go to the store for some stuff regardless so its not like having it shipped is really saving me a trip.