Planeat

Reducing Food Waste through Personalized Meal Planning

Reducing Food Waste through Personalized Meal Planning

Reducing Food Waste through Personalized Meal Planning

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION

Planeat is a mobile app project aimed at reducing food waste and encouraging sustainable eating habits. This app provides a platform for users to efficiently manage ingredients and share leftover food with local welfare organizations or other users. Users can reduce food waste through personalized meal plans, positively impacting carbon footprint reduction. This project was conducted as a Capstone project at Cyber University of Korea, aiming to promote a sustainable lifestyle.

Planeat is a mobile app project aimed at reducing food waste and encouraging sustainable eating habits. This app provides a platform for users to efficiently manage ingredients and share leftover food with local welfare organizations or other users. Users can reduce food waste through personalized meal plans, positively impacting carbon footprint reduction. This project was conducted as a Capstone project at Cyber University of Korea, aiming to promote a sustainable lifestyle.

Planeat is a mobile app project aimed at reducing food waste and encouraging sustainable eating habits. This app provides a platform for users to efficiently manage ingredients and share leftover food with local welfare organizations or other users. Users can reduce food waste through personalized meal plans, positively impacting carbon footprint reduction. This project was conducted as a Capstone project at Cyber University of Korea, aiming to promote a sustainable lifestyle.

MY ROLE
MY ROLE
MY ROLE

I played a key role in the design process, focusing on user research, developing wireframes and prototypes, designing interfaces, and enhancing usability through user feedback. I also distilled research findings into practical, innovative solutions.

I played a key role in the design process, focusing on user research, developing wireframes and prototypes, designing interfaces, and enhancing usability through user feedback. I also distilled research findings into practical, innovative solutions.

I played a key role in the design process, focusing on user research, developing wireframes and prototypes, designing interfaces, and enhancing usability through user feedback. I also distilled research findings into practical, innovative solutions.

TOOLS
TOOLS
TOOLS

Figma, Google Form, Chat GPT

Figma, Google Form, Chat GPT

Figma, Google Form, Chat GPT

TIMELINE
TIMELINE
TIMELINE

Sep 2023 - Dec 2023
(4 Months)

Sep 2023 - Dec 2023
(4 Months)

Sep 2023 - Dec 2023
(4 Months)

PROBLEM DISCOVERY
PROBLEM DISCOVERY
PROBLEM DISCOVERY

Food Waste

The third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide

One of the most important environmental issues in recent years has been the climate crisis. A major cause of this crisis is greenhouse gas emissions. While emissions from the energy and transportation sectors often receive attention, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by food waste is also significant. Annually, about 2.5 billion tons of food are wasted, making food waste the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Did you know that reducing food waste significantly contributes to
environmental protection?

In Korea, most food waste (about 70%) comes from households and small eateries. If we could cut down this waste by just 20%, it would have the same environmental benefit as planting 360 million pine trees.

INSIGHT
INSIGHT
INSIGHT

Leftovers during meals and expired food products are the main causes of food waste.

Early surveys indicated that insufficient meal planning and habitual over-purchasing are key contributors to food waste. Many respondents lacked awareness of strategies to optimize food buying and meal preparation, struggling to establish sustainable eating practices.

HMW

How might we motivate users to make
their food purchasing and meal planning more sustainable?

How might we motivate users to make their food purchasing and meal planning more sustainable?

SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION

Create sustainable consumption habits

through personalized meal planning
and food management

1

1

Personalized meal planning

Personalized meal planning

Provide customized meal plans based on users' dietary preferences and ingredients in their fridge, contributing to the reduction of food waste.

Provide customized meal plans based on users' dietary preferences and ingredients in their fridge, contributing to the reduction of food waste.

2

Gamification

Gamification

Enhances fun and engagement by motivating users to participate in environmental protection through mission completion with gamification features.

Enhances fun and engagement by motivating users to participate in environmental protection through mission completion with gamification features.

3

Strengthen social connections

Strengthen social connections

Reduce food waste and strengthen social connections through the 'Share' platform, which allows for the donation or sharing of unused ingredients within the community.

Reduce food waste and strengthen social connections through the 'Share' platform, which allows for the donation or sharing of unused ingredients within the community.

USER RESEARCH

USER RESEARCH

USER RESEARCH

In-depth User Perception Survey for Food Waste Reduction

A survey was conducted to understand users' awareness and the current situation regarding food waste issues. The purpose of the survey is to find practical solutions for reducing food waste and to analyze users' attitudes and behaviors to achieve this goal.

Demography
Demography
Demography

85% Female and 15% Male
Primarily aged 25-29 (63.3%), with diverse household sizes from individuals to larger families.

85% Female and 15% Male
Primarily aged 25-29 (63.3%), with diverse household sizes from individuals to larger families.

85% Female and 15% Male
Primarily aged 25-29 (63.3%), with diverse household sizes from individuals to larger families.

Participants
Participants
Participants

30

30

30

Timeline
Timeline
Timeline

Sep. 21 - Oct. 01 2023

Sep. 21 - Oct. 01 2023

Sep. 21 - Oct. 01 2023

FOOD WASTE HABITS

FOOD WASTE HABITS

FOOD WASTE HABITS

The majority of respondents indicated that leftovers from meals and expired food products are the main causes of food waste. Additionally, it was found that the types of food frequently wasted and the causes of waste mostly originated from improper meal and purchase planning.

EATING HABITS

EATING HABITS

EATING HABITS

It was observed that most participants mainly dine at home, while also frequently ordering takeout or delivery food.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

About 36% of participants responded that they 'don't know much' about the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from food waste, while around 46% said they are 'well aware'. The majority of participants have tried to consciously reduce food waste.

Process
Process
Process

Creative Solutions Through Interaction with AI

The 'Planeat' project focused on developing an app that designs user experiences and provides personalized meal plans with the help of AI. This project utilized AI's analytical capabilities from the initial idea generation, survey analysis, problem-solving, to the development of user personas and journey maps. Additionally, AI tools like Dall-E were used to visualize design ideas and gain creative inspiration for user interface development.

PERSONAS
PERSONAS
PERSONAS

Consolidating our key insights into 2 goal-oriented personas.

Consolidating our key insights into 2 goal-oriented personas.

Consolidating our key insights into 2 goal-oriented personas.

Jeehun Kim

Jeehun Kim

32 years old

32 years old

Wants to buy only what is necessary without wasting food

Wants to buy only what is necessary without wasting food

#IT Specialist

#IT Specialist

#Family of Three

#Family of Three

#Efficient Shopping

#Efficient Shopping

Need

Need

  • I need an accurate plan for groceries to prepare meals without waste

  • I need optimal ways to utilize purchased food for a sustainable lifestyle.

  • I need an accurate plan for groceries to prepare meals without waste

  • I need optimal ways to utilize purchased food for a sustainable lifestyle.

Frustration

Frustration

  • Excessive purchasing of ingredients often leads to increased waste.

  • I lack a plan for efficiently using purchased ingredients.

  • Excessive purchasing of ingredients often leads to increased waste.

  • I lack a plan for efficiently using purchased ingredients.

Suji Shin

Suji Shin

29 years old

29 years old

How can I share leftover food?

How can I share leftover food?

#Freelancer

#Freelancer

#Couple

#Couple

#Waste Reduction Activities

#Waste Reduction Activities

Need

Need

  • A platform is needed to easily share or donate leftover food within the community.

  • I want to contribute to environmental protection by reducing food waste.

  • A platform is needed to easily share or donate leftover food within the community.

  • I want to contribute to environmental protection by reducing food waste.

Frustration

Frustration

  • I feel guilty about wasting food.

  • There's no accessible and trustworthy platform for sharing leftover food.

  • I feel guilty about wasting food.

  • There's no accessible and trustworthy platform for sharing leftover food.

JOURNEY MAP
JOURNEY MAP
JOURNEY MAP

Final Design

Wireframe

Onboarding

Discover how Planeat's smooth onboarding experience can introduce you to the app's core features and ways to change your meal planning habits.
The introduction screen demonstrates the app's purpose of reducing food waste and aiding in personalized meal planning.

Setting

Before we begin the service, we conduct a brief survey to provide a personalized meal plan tailored to your daily life and eating habits. This survey includes information such as the number of household members, meal times, preferred types of food, and allergy information to understand your eating habits.

———————

Main Home

On Planeat's home screen, users can quickly see their sustainable eating activities. Here, they can track consecutive days of zero-waste meals and real-time CO2e savings, motivating them in their environmental conservation efforts and emphasizing their actual contributions

Meal Plan Suggestions

I offer personalized meal plans, crafted based on your onboarding survey results and the ingredients listed in fridge.

Meal Adjustment

Various meal recommends are prepared so that users can adjust their meal plans. Through these recommends, users can compose their own custom meal plan.

Recipes

Fridge Ingredient Display

You can easily write a shopping list by clearly distinguishing between the ingredients you have and the additional ingredients you need.

Add to Meal Plan

By choosing the desired date and time and adding the meal to the calendar, you can prepare meals in a planned way.

———————

Challenge

The challenge section offers gamification features that allow users to joyfully engage in environmental protection activities by completing missions like a game. Users can earn broom icons through donations and sharing activities, adding ingredients to their fridge, plan personal diets.
By using the collected brooms to clean the polluted Earth and accumulating experience points, users can contribute to creating a cleaner environment.

———————

Share

This is a space where users can share and donate leftover ingredients with others. By facilitating such a platform for sharing, Planeat users can directly contribute to reducing food waste, strengthen community connections, and engage in responsible actions for the environment.

Write a Free Sharing Post

Each post can specify the condition of the ingredients, expiration date, purchase date, and the preferred location and time for exchange!

Chat for Sharing

Use the chat feature within the platform to communicate with other interested users and proceed with transactions

Donation

Planeat provides a platform for users to engage in meaningful donation activities in connection with the local community.
Food Banks are social welfare organizations that collect foods that are not sold in the market but are still of good quality and provide them to the underprivileged. Through the Planeat app, users can view a list of food bank centers in their area and check the required donation items for each center. This allows anyone to easily reduce food waste and offers the opportunity to extend a helping hand to neighbors in need.

———————

Takeout

1

Embracing Agility in Design

My solo journey in developing the Planeat app taught me the art of agility in design. I learned to embrace the 'try fast, fail fast' philosophy, where early iterations and rough prototyping became crucial for quick pivots and effective communication.

2

Technology for Sustainability

This project wasn't just about building an app—it was about envisioning technology as a bridge to a more sustainable world and realizing that sometimes, the path less trodden reveals the most sustainable stride forward.

3

Pivoting with Purpose: Planeat's Journey

Navigating the Planeat project highlighted the crucial balance between a product's vision and the practical realities of users' needs and legal limitations. Insights gained from user feedback and regulatory boundaries shifted our initial concept, steering us toward addressing the underlying contributors to food waste. This experience underscored the necessity of a holistic approach to design, blending creativity with an informed understanding of regulations and user behaviors.