Cookalach
A social media application for people that cook
A final project as a student (a personal project).
My responsibility: Idea, Research, UX and UI.
The Problem
There is no convenient solution for finding and organizing recipes
It’s challenging to search for recipes across multiple websites
Managing ingredients and tracking recipes is clumsy.
I am not aware of a product that connects the cooking community.
The Solution
Let's create a social network application where one can share, find and save recipes, manage shopping lists and have fun following a recipe while cooking.
User research
I conducted a 70 participants survey, of which 90% are women and 10% are men with a age range of between 36 and 55.
Searching for recipes online.
Saves recipes on their mobile phone.
Trying new recipes.
Cooks regularly between 1 and 4 times a week out of necessity or pleasure.
Using their mobile phones during leisure time between 1 and 4 hours a day.
Thinks the most challenging thing is to find the time for cooking.
The research reinforced the need for a social network-like app that helps users optimize their cooking process, save time, manage ingredients, and easily access recipes.
Benchmark
Market and competitor research was conducted to understand existing cooking apps and their strengths and weaknesses.
RCPE is a social network for cooking (only 500 downloads on google play and 98 likes on their Facebook page) first Facebook photo in March 2021
KptnCook Meal Plan & Recipes Meal planning, recipe selection, superact list
Cook Mate is an application for importing and saving recipes
Kitchen Stories is an international app that is mostly popular in Germany. The app offers recipes and other features related to cooking.
Yummly is a website and mobile app in the US that provides users with recipes through recommendations and a search engine. Uses a knowledge graph to offer a semantic web search engine for food, cooking and recipes. Acquired by and currently operates under the electrical appliance company Whirlpool Corporation.
Persona
Amit Aharon
33 old, married + 2 children
Cooking habits:
She Cooks food 4 times a week out of need to feed her family. Cooks the same
dishes according to the day of the week. She is not trying to be too
sophisticated and efficiency is the name of her game.
Wants & Needs:
- Spend as little time as possible on cooking.
- New recipes for quick preparation with an easy difficulty level
Frustrations:
- Her family raves about her cooking ability
- The lack of time prevents her from refreshing the weekly menu
Jonathan Marom
38 old, married + 3 children
Cooking habits:
He cooks at an expert level, and his friends can't wait to be invited to his
place. He creates unique dishes on a daily basis, based on his mood, and every
month or so he puts on a lavish, carefully crafted meal for his guests.
Wants & Needs:
- To optimize and improve the production of meals for his guests
- Share his photos and recipes and get wows from guests and friends
Frustrations:
- Forgetting to buy groceries at the supermarket.
- He finds it clumsy to use the recipes on pages and on the phone when
cooking.
Sharon Levin
47 old, married + 3 children
Cooking habits:
She cooks for her children twice during weekdays and usually hosts friends or
family for a meal in the weekends. her weekend events are very important for her
and she share her guests the menu and pictures form the event.
Wants & Needs:
- to optimize the way of finding her recipes
- to engage her husband in shopping at the supermarket in an efficient
manner
Frustrations:
- She lacks time during the week to prepare for her hospitality meals
- Has difficulty innovating recipes and surprising the guests
Conclusions
Despite the existence of numerous platforms attempting to address the initial problems, they have not gained widespread acceptance or captured a significant portion of the expansive cooking market. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of user needs is crucial to enhance Cookalach’s prospects for success.
Analysis of user research indicates a demand for a culinary-focused social network, with users primarily seeking assistance in reducing cooking time and improving recipe search efficiency.
Users are accustomed to and actively engage with major social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. Their choices are influenced by mass opinions and recommendations. Therefore, the user experience should be familiar, comfortable, and reminiscent of their interactions on these social platforms.
A thorough examination of user preferences revealed both popular and diverse cuisines. It is imperative for the application to learn each user's personal taste, thereby presenting relevant recipes and cuisines. This personalized approach will optimize recipe selection and foster continued user engagement.
The registration process, a significant barrier for many competitors, will be streamlined and user-friendly, ensuring a swift and inviting experience.
Simplifying, clarifying, and enhancing the convenience of recipe search and filtering are critical factors contributing to the success of the application.
From a marketing perspective, an innovative strategy must be devised to make cooking sharing a popular trend. This will be achieved by facilitating sharing during every cooking experience, prominently featuring it on the home page, and employing an eye-catching design.
UX
Create an account for new user
Find a recipe
Create a grocery list
Design system & Branding
Open Sans
Green: Nature , Freshness, Energy, Vegan.
