Food Management App Design
Our team developed a tool to help consumers make smart decisions with purchasing, storing, and managing food. I redesigned the user interface design while translating the Korean version to the English version in 2022.
Context
Our team found that 40% of food products are thrown away before ever reaching a table due to bruised surfaces or being expired. Despite common misconceptions, these products are still eatable. Korea stipulates that most processed foods should be marked with the 'Sell by date', which is the 'maximum period that food can be sold to consumers.' The Korea Food Industry Association said the loss caused by the Sell-By date was about $500 million per year. Including disposal costs, this number raises to about $775 million in South Korea alone (2017).
Challenge
How might we create a food management system that can help both consumers and the environment?
Solution
We created a food management app which includes shelf-life information such as 'Expiration date' and instructions on how to properly store food. We made it possible to maximize customer convenience through the application of time barcode technology and partnership with grocery stores.
*Time barcode refers to an 18-digit bar code that uses the existing 13 digit bar code, but adds 5 digits with information about the manufacturing date and expiration date.
Key Features
Feature 1 : My Grocery
My Grocery consists of three features. The receipt is a function of scanning receipts to manage users' purchase details and digitally track expiration dates. The membership is a tab that links accounts with grocery stores the user frequently visits. Lastly, the shopping list is is a collaborative list of foods that need to be purchased in the future and the user can share the list with housemates.
Feature 2 : My Fridge
My fridge is divided into three features: refrigerated storage, frozen storage, and room temperature storage according to the storage method. Each tab shows a list of foods currently owned by the user and indicates the expiration dates. By scanning a food item's barcode, users can easily record food information in the app like the products date of manufacture, the expiration date, use by date, and the appropriate storage method. This information for a specific product is accessible in the Food Details page.
Feature 3 : Alarm Function
This is to inform the user of any approaching expiration dates on their food so that they can plan their consumption wisely.
Key Insights
Theme 1 : Misconceptions about food deadlines
One source of food waste arises from consumers throwing away food that is still good because of confusion about the meaning of dates displayed on the label. They confuse 'sell-by-date', which means 'allow to sell for consumers', and 'expiration date', which is 'a deadline that encourages actual disposal'. Although many foods can actually be consumed even after the sell-by-date depending on the storage condition, consumers often throw them away because of the anxiety caused by the marked date.
Theme 2 : Numerous variables in food management
It is difficult to constantly manage the quality of food in the process of storing, consuming, re-storing, and re-consuming food at home. In addition, it is not easy to track management because it is shared with family members or housemates, and to remember the food list that is stored.
Theme 3 : Lack of information on how to store after purchase
Although the expiration dates may vary depending on the storage condition, the storage method may not be properly specified. In particular, in the case of fresh foods that require particular storage, there is a lot of uncertainty. It is necessary to present different storage method standards for each type of food.
Our Vision
We aimed to enhance the accuracy and convenience of food management to support wiser shopping and consumption decisions, ultimately reducing unnecessary food waste.
User Testing Highlights
We proceeded with the usability test for the third round with eighteen people. Testers were observed while they completed four specific tasks assigned to them. Before conducting the usability test on actual target users, the first round was piloted to design students to check and supplement the functional parts. In the first round, we found that users found it difficult to find their bearings within the app and that the labeling of each function caused confusion. So, we significantly modified the overall screen configuration, simplified it, and changed labels to be more intuitive. With the improved prototype through the feedback from the first round, we conducted the second and third usability tests with target users.
Takeaway
This was my very first UX project. Through this project, I was fascinated by UX, which contains the journey from finding an issue, defining challenges, empathizing, and creating a solution. Despite no prior experience, this hands-on project enabled me to learn a lot while working with my team. The difficulties in solving the problem were that the more we studied it, the more complex it became, and we could not meet the different needs of various stakeholders.