Major project
Healthy eating services for young people who cook independently
CUISINE SHARING
CUISINE SHARING is a communal recipe box service that provides customisable recipes and ingredients, enabling young people who cook independently to prepare hassle-free, photogenic and healthy food and share their cooking experiences virtually with friends in real-time, So that they experience confidence, companionship and reassurance when they prepare healthy food for themselves.
The Problem
While the majority of Generation Z declare that health is likely to be a priority when buying food, they have a low level of involvement in their own health and that healthy eating habits are increasingly difficult to form and adhere to, especially for those who have left home and have to cook independently for themselves.
User Research
I used online surveys to figure out what this user group currently do and think in terms of this topic. Finally, I received 31 responses.
At the same time, I conducted a diary study with seven participants to explore their buying and cooking behaviors. Since dinner was the meal they were most likely to cook, I asked them about the ingredients they bought that day, how they cooked them and what they ate.
After I summarized the research data and the secondary research data, I launched an in-depth semi-structured interview and card sorting. At this stage, I was interested in knowing how users conceived their menus, how they acquired relevant knowledge, and whether there was a conflict between their existing lifestyle and their desired way of eating.
Key Insights
Previously research identified some key insights for the young Chinese people who cook independently in the UK.
First, they may not see the importance of the adoption of healthy eating behaviours at this stage in their lives.
Second, they feel frustrated when they cook for themselves
Third, they are reluctant to pay much time and effort into planning, buying, preparing, and cooking healthy meals
Behavior Change
From the com-b model, I identified the cause and effect relationship behind users’ existing behaviours from three perspectives, capability, motivation and opportunity. I realised that users lacked the confidence and motivation to cook. I drew some inspiration from possible intervention functions like enablement and Environmental restructuring.
Experience Prototyping
Then I invited the participants to test the concept by bodystorming. From this activity, I discovered how planning recipes together needed further development. Also, I found that users would like to involve others when they are cooking, even if it was just a video or voice call. In addition, users mentioned that if they needed to take and share photos, they would expect to get good-looking photos.
Key Features
The first one is to customise the contents of the recipe box based on personalities and preferences. Allowing users to pick and choose the content of recipes, such as flavours, the type of vegetables or meat, can help them create healthy food recipes that match their tastes. Additionally, it enables the consumer to select between unprocessed or processed ingredients, such as chopped potatoes or marinated meat, which helps to take the hassle out of handling ingredients.
The second is a photo-friendly and healthy food preparation support based on simple cooking instructions. We can notice that when it comes to sharing photos of their cooking, users expect to take photogenic pictures of their food in order to satisfy their internal senses of pride and pleasure.
The third is the communal cooking experience. After ordering a recipe box, users can invite their friends or family members to a specific time to cook together, where they can have a voice or video call. This makes the otherwise boring process of cooking more interactive and engaging.
High-fidelity Prototyping
The high fidelity prototyping and video prototyping were designed to effectively assess the user experience and feasibility of the entire service.
Three key user journeys were identified: buy a recipe box, invite others and start cooking events.
Zhuyu Wang
Major project
Healthy eating services for young people who cook independently