Full Meal

Problem Statement  

Couples need a way to decide what to eat. Perceptions of indecision may create tension and hinder/damage bonds created between couples. Additionally, time spent on identifying meal options create additional pain for couples, as that time can be spent on fun or engaging activities. 

‍

Problem Background  

Decision making can be difficult. When considering meal options, couples may face a series of decisions that delay ordering or preparing a meal. The result is an inefficient process that also delays gratification. 

Our survey found that couples face information overload–the myriad of options presented on food apps, add to the difficulty of deciding what to eat. 

While conducting our research, we’ve found that all couples experience some form of challenge when deciding what to eat. A third reported feeling drained during the process, resulting in a desire to further rush selection; while two-thirds expressed feeling frustrated overall. Additionally, two-thirds expressed they were concerned about price, and speed of decisions and took those into consideration when making a decision. 

Two-thirds found it difficult to decide whether or not to eat out. The difficulty didn’t stop there as that decision was the first hurdle. After identifying whether or not they would eat out they were further challenged by the options presented. If they ate out there were a number of restaurants to select from, the same would be true if they decided to use a meal app like Uber. For all surveyed, if they decided to eat at home, then they still faced difficulty with deciding what to make with what was in their pantry. 

The problem is that there isn’t an effective solution to make decisions, especially when couples are faced with a myriad of options. 

‍

Research Insights

User Pain Points

Couples find it challenging to reach consensus when deciding what to eat. Resulting in time lost, stress, fatigue, and frustration. 

Supporting Data

100% of people we spoke to found that it was difficult to identify what to eat, when sorting through their pantry.

Feedback

Our research validated this problem and found that the majority of couples experienced some degree of difficulty when making a decision about their meals. 

‍

Landing on the Solution

Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features: a decision tree app that provides a curated list for couples based on a ranked preference by both couples, and best match tool to pair pantry items with potential recipes.

‍

Explanation of Solution

Ideally the solution would allow couples to arrive at a decision faster. Each couple would input a series of ranking for their preferences. The app will then compare the preferences of users and highlight any overlaps and provide a curated list of recommendations. 

In the scenario that couples would prefer the app to help with what meal to cook, the app can prompt the user to list items in their pantry or items they would like to use in a meal. The app will then generate a series of recipes, before showing recipes to users the app will prompt for preferences to generate recipes and ideas in line with couples preference. 

‍

Future Steps

• Conduct further research on decision trees and running comparisons between perferences
• Further user research is needed, to ensure the above solution is actually needed by users
• UX and design needed to be sorted, and timeline/roadmap needs to be created
• User flow needs to be explored and created.