Fooducation
A mobile app helping users make smarter food choices through
food comparisons based on their dietary needs.
Role: Product Manager
Technologies: Marvel App
Defining the Problem
Obesity is a serious disorder that is affecting Americans all across the nation. Not only is it an issue on its own, but it can easily lead to an increase in other health risks and diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
The prevalence of obesity has been increasing as time goes by, affecting a larger part of the population in the southern states. It is important to note that obesity affects men and women alike, 70% of all men and 58% of all women.
Unfortunately, the number of junk-food establishments are increasing yearly. Even at regular non fast-food restaurants, certain dishes served can still be considered unhealthy. The bottom line is for individuals to find healthier alternatives and for them to be educated on nutritional value.
Many users don't have a solid knowledge foundation about food nutrients until conducting appropriate research. Data visualization for various foods will provide a better understanding, thus leading to healthier food choices. Food education is key to living healthier and happier lifestyles.
User Research
In order to address the problem of obesity in America and the lack of tools for food education, we began the design thinking process through user research. During our user research, we spoke with twelve people ranging from 19 to 50 years old. We discovered a recurring theme during the interviews; people are always on the go and want a quick, simple option to make healthy food choices. Reading nutrition labels can be time consuming and confusing. People tried using nutrition tracking apps, but they didn’t want to put in every single food item they ate. They wanted to be able to look at which foods are healthy, but not necessarily track every item they eat. We found that the users in their twenties and college students were especially busy and on the go.
Persona
These findings led to the development of our persona:
Maddox is in her mid 20’s. She is a working professional and a graduate student who wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle, while balancing the pressures of life. Maddox also has Diabetes so needs to easily check sugar nutrition facts.
Requirements
In order for the application to fulfill the needs of the persona, the app needs to have quick and simple interface to compare food and their nutrition facts. It doesn’t need to have tracking capabilities, but simply look at food nutrition data from grocery stores and restaurants.
Mobile Application
As obesity remains a problem in America, we need to provide more resources for food education and simple tools to help people make better food selections. That is precisely the problem that FooduCation strives to solve. It is an application that users can use to compare food nutrients visually so they can pick the healthiest option quickly and easily. There are no available food applications on the market that visualize nutrient data. This app lets the user select two foods and compares the data in a visual form. This will allow quick and simple choices, as well as help educate on what the healthiest food options are.
Fooducation also has other functionalities for the user to register, login, input their dietary restrictions, find foods for their requirements and save their food choices to their profile. This all in one food choice application will empower users to learn about food and help them select the most nutritional options to improve their health and wellness.
Business Case
Value Add
FooduCation brings value to both consumers and food suppliers. Consumers receive food education, have a tool to make healthier choices, get food recommendations based on search results and find restaurants and grocery stores that provide the food they’re looking for. Restaurants and grocery stores are able to promote their products, gain new customers and receive brand recognition for serving healthy foods.
The food application is free for users in order to gain a large following quickly. Then as FooduCation builds partnerships in the community, they can begin promoting products and companies in the app to monetize the platform. It serves as a marketing outlet for food providers, as well as a health food tool.